Thousands of women in Afghanistan likely to be punished for adultery after Taliban invalidates divorces

The oppression of women under the Taliban regime of Afghanistan continues as now thousands face the threat of prosecution for adultery after the government declared their divorces as invalid, which automatically invalidates their second marriage. The declaration is another nail in the coffin of women's rights in Afghanistan after the regime snatched away their employment and education.

Under the previous government, the women were granted one-sided divorce helping them to escape abusive and drug-addicted husbands. Some of these women remarried to start a new life, but the extreme imposition of Islamic law by the Taliban is making these women vulnerable to imprisonment or other types of violent punishments for the crime of adultery, a report from Washington Post said.

The divorces were complex earlier also, but as the previous Afghanistan regime tried to remain closer to the ‘democratic’ western world, it started allowing it on a case-to-case basis.

Taliban sources didn't have much to share about changes in the divorce law but said that under Islamic law, both parties should appear before a judge in divorce cases.

The reports from the country also reveal that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in Afghanistan to provide emotional and financial support to victims of such domestic violence have also been closed on the Taliban's orders. The functionaries of some of these institutions are also punished for having an anti-Islamic stand.

Several international organizations have highlighted the brutal crackdown on women's rights in Afghanistan and warned that the Taliban is effectively working to remove women from public life. "Women who peacefully protested against these oppressive rules have been threatened, arrested, detained, tortured, and forcibly disappeared," Amnesty International said.

The oppressive measures against women are also aggravating the economic woes of the country. A report by the International Crisis Group (ICG) states that the donors are turning their back on Afghanistan followings its conservative policies, especially towards women.

Many western countries and even private donors have canceled their donations to the country fearing backlash from their own people for funding such an oppressive regime.