Guardian Reports Afghan Woman's Divorce Request Rejected by Taliban Court Despite Domestic Violence Claims

A woman in northern Afghanistan who gave her name as Farzaneh to The Guardian said a court under Taliban administration rejected her request for divorce despite her claims of repeated domestic violence by her husband.

Farzaneh said her husband had beaten her multiple times, including once with a phone charger cord. After the incident, she decided to seek divorce to end the violence. However, she said the judge rejected her request, asking if she wanted divorce "only for this reason." The judge demanded proof of the violence and instructed her to return home and continue living with her husband.

The court also told her she could not oppose her husband's decision to take a second wife.

Women's rights activists say such cases are increasing in Afghanistan. Sharzad Akbar, head of the Rawadari human rights organization, told The Guardian that women in many cases must either endure domestic violence or turn to courts that often send them back to the same homes.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai said at the United Nations that the widespread restrictions on women in Afghanistan cannot be considered culture or religion, describing them as "gender apartheid."

Susan Ferguson, UN Women special representative for Afghanistan, warned that if the international community remains silent on the restrictions and pressures facing Afghan women, the consequences could extend beyond Afghanistan.