Afghanistan Legal Age of Marriage Not 9 Years Old
“Afghanistan legalizes marrying girls at 9 years old”
Summary
The Taliban’s new family law ties a girl’s eligibility for marriage to the onset of puberty, which can occur as early as nine years old, thereby legalizing marriage for girls at that age. International bodies have condemned the decree as a step that entrenches discrimination against women and girls.
Sources 67 searched
- New Taliban Decree on Divorce Formalizes Child Marriage in Afghanistan, U.N. Warns - The New York Times
Fereshta Abbasi, the Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, said that child marriage was legal under previous governments “but only between the ages of 15 and 16” and with the parents’ permission.
- Taliban ‘legitimising child marriage’ with new law, activists warn | Child marriage | The Guardian
Child marriage appears to have been legally recognised for the first time by the Taliban in Afghanistan, as activists say “shameful” new laws make it almost impossible for girls and young women to seek divorce against their husbands’ will.
- UN gravely concerned by an Afghan Taliban law that has provisions on child marriage : NPR
It also includes a section on the separation of girls who reach puberty and are married, which "implies that child marriage is permitted," the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a statement.
- UN gravely concerned by an Afghan Taliban law that has provisions on child marriage - The Washington Post
The United Nations has criticized a new Afghan law on separation in marriage, saying it entrenches discrimination against women and girls · May 21, 2026 at 8:30 p.m. EDTToday at 8:30 p.m. EDT ... KABUL, Afghanistan — The United Nations expressed “grave concern” on Thursday about a new law issued by Afghanistan’s Taliban government on separation in marriage which includes provisions on child marriage, saying the code further entrenches discrimination against women and girls .
- 45% من الزوجات الأفغانيات أقل من 16 سنة | أخبار منوعات | الجزيرة نت
وقال الصندوق إن الزواج المبكر عادة منتشرة جدا في أفغانستان حيث يبلغ عمر الفتيات أقل من 16 عاما وهي السن القانونية في البلاد.
- Child marriage in Afghanistan - Wikipedia
According to UNICEF, child marriage is the "formal marriage or informal union before age 18", and it affects more girls than boys. Girls are increasingly at risk of child marriage in Afghanistan. In 2021, an estimated 28% of Afghan women were married before they turned 18.
- New Taliban Law Legalizes Child Marriage and Further Restricts Women’s Rights - Feminist Majority Foundation
A newly published Taliban family ... Afghanistan’s previous minimum marriage age for girls by linking eligibility for marriage to puberty, which can begin as early as age nine....
- Taliban Decree Formalizes Child Marriage: UN Warns
The new law, which comprises 31 ... Taliban just legalized child marriage with a new decree! A 9-year-old girl can now be married off by her father or grandfather....
- في أفغانستان، الفتيات معارضات لخطر زواج الأطفال بشكل متزايد | أخبار الأمم المتحدة
تلقت منظمة الأمم ... أسر في أفغانستان تعرض فتيات لا تتجاوز أعمارهن 20 يوما للزواج في المستقبل مقابل مهر....
- زواج الأطفال في أفغانستان - ويكيبيديا
في أفغانستان، 57% من الفتيات يتم تزويجهن قبل التاسعة عشر. الأعمار الأكثر شيوعًا في تزويج الفتيات هي الخامسة عشر والسادسة عشر.
- New Taliban decree on divorce formalizes child marriage, U.N. warns
The Taliban government, which has imposed some of the world’s toughest restrictions on women and girls since taking over Afghanistan in 2021, has rejected the accusations.
- The Taliban’s new law isn’t about child marriage, it’s child rape | The Independent
In July last year, a six-year-old in southern Afghanistan was sold by her father to an adult man. We do not know her name. We know the Taliban’s only intervention was to tell the husband to wait until she turned nine before consummating the marriage. There were no proceedings, no records, and no rescue attempt.
This fact check is free and donation-based. $1 powers ~30 fact-checks.
