Sky News, 27 February 2026
This article refers to AAN’s latest unofficial translation of the Taleban’s new penal code:
The decree, shared in an unofficial English translation by the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN), says that a man who beats his wife enough to cause a visible wound faces 15 days in prison – if she can first prove her case to a judge.
(…)
AAN co-director and senior analyst Kate Clarke said on the watchdog’s website that the penal code has not yet been published in the country’s official gazette, but has been circulated to its courts.
She added on the website that the code appeared to have been leaked by someone in Afghanistan’s government, “prompted perhaps by its casual mention of slaves, the permission it gives to husbands to beat their wives and teachers their pupils, and its class-based discrimination”.
Revisions:
This article was last updated on 1 Mar 2026
