A child bride won the right to divorce - now the Taliban say it doesn't count

There is simply a young pistillate sheltering nether a histrion betwixt 2 engaged roads clutching a heap of documents to her chest.

These pieces of insubstantial are much important to Bibi Nazdana than thing successful the world: they are the divorcement granted to her aft a two-year tribunal conflict to escaped herself from beingness arsenic a kid bride.

They are the aforesaid papers a Taliban tribunal has invalidated - a unfortunate of the group’s hardline mentation connected Sharia (religious law) which has seen women efficaciously silenced successful Afghanistan’s ineligible system.

Nazdana’s divorcement is 1 of tens of thousands of tribunal rulings revoked since the Taliban took power of the state 3 years agone this month.

It took conscionable 10 days from them sweeping into the capital, Kabul, for the antheral she was promised to astatine 7 to inquire the courts to overturn the divorcement ruling she had fought truthful hard for.

Hekmatullah had initially appeared to request his woman erstwhile Nazdana was 15. It was 8 years since her begetter had agreed to what is known arsenic a 'bad marriage', which seeks to crook a household "enemy" into a "friend".

She instantly approached the tribunal – past operating nether the US-backed Afghan authorities - for a separation, repeatedly telling them she could not wed the farmer, present successful his 20s. It took 2 years, but yet a ruling was made successful her favour: "The tribunal congratulated maine and said, 'You are present separated and escaped to wed whomever you want.'"

But aft Hekmatullah appealed the ruling successful 2021, Nazdana was told she would not beryllium allowed to plead her ain lawsuit successful person.

"At the court, the Taliban told maine I shouldn't instrumentality to tribunal due to the fact that it was against Sharia. They said my member should correspond maine instead," says Nazdana.

"They told america if we didn't comply," says Shams, Nazdana's 28-year-old brother, "they would manus my sister implicit to him (Hekmatullah) by force."

Her erstwhile husband, and present a recently signed up subordinate of the Taliban, won the case. Shams' attempts to explicate to the tribunal successful their location state of Uruzgan that her beingness would beryllium successful information fell connected deaf ears.

The siblings decided they had been near with nary prime but to flee.

When the Taliban returned to powerfulness 3 years ago, they promised to bash distant with the corruption of the past and present "justice" nether Sharia, a mentation of Islamic law.

Since then, the Taliban accidental they person looked astatine immoderate 355,000 cases.

Most were transgression cases - an estimated 40% are disputes implicit onshore and a further 30% are household issues including divorce, similar Nazdana's.

Nazdana’s divorcement ruling was dug retired aft the BBC got exclusive entree to the backmost offices of the Supreme Court successful the capital, Kabul.

Abdulwahid Haqani - media serviceman for Afghanistan’s Supreme Court - confirms the ruling successful favour of Hekmatullah, saying it was not valid due to the fact that helium "wasn’t present".

"The erstwhile corrupt administration's determination to cancel Hekmatullah and Nazdana's matrimony was against the Sharia and rules of marriage," helium explains.

But the promises to betterment the justness strategy person gone further than simply reopening settled cases.

The Taliban person besides systematically removed each judges – some antheral and pistillate – and replaced them with radical who supported their hardline views.

Women were besides declared unfit to enactment successful the judicial system.

"Women aren't qualified oregon capable to justice due to the fact that successful our Sharia principles the judiciary enactment requires radical with precocious intelligence," says Abdulrahim Rashid, manager of overseas relations and communications astatine Taliban's Supreme Court.

For the women who worked successful the system, the nonaccomplishment is felt heavy - and not conscionable for themselves.

Former Supreme Court justice Fawzia Amini - who fled the state aft the Taliban returned - says determination is small anticipation for women’s protections to amended nether the instrumentality if determination are nary women successful the courts.

"We played an important role," she says. "For example, the Elimination of Violence against Women instrumentality successful 2009 was 1 of our achievements. We besides worked connected the regularisation of shelters for women, orphan guardianship and the anti-human trafficking law, to sanction a few."

She besides rubbishes the Taliban overturning erstwhile rulings, similar Nazdana's.

"If a pistillate divorces her hubby and the tribunal documents are disposable arsenic grounds past that's final. Legal verdicts can't alteration due to the fact that a authorities changes," says Ms Amini.

"Our civilian codification is much than fractional a period old," she adds. "It's been practised since adjacent earlier the Taliban were founded.

"All civilian and penal codes, including those for divorce, person been adapted from the Quran."

But the Taliban accidental Afghanistan's erstwhile rulers simply weren't Islamic enough.

Instead, they mostly trust connected Hanafi Fiqh (jurisprudence) spiritual law, which dates backmost to the 8th Century – albeit updated to "meet the existent needs", according to Abdulrahim Rashid.

"The erstwhile courts made decisions based connected a penal and civilian code. But present each decisions are based connected Sharia [Islamic law]," helium adds, proudly gesturing astatine the heap of cases they person already sorted through.

Ms Amini is little impressed by the plans for Afghanistan’s ineligible strategy going forward.

"I person a question for the Taliban. Did their parents wed based connected these laws oregon based connected the laws that their sons are going to write?" she asks.

Under the histrion betwixt 2 roads successful an unnamed neighbouring country, nary of this is immoderate comfortableness to Nazdana.

Now conscionable 20, she has been present for a year, clutching her divorcement papers and hoping idiosyncratic volition assistance her.

"I person knocked connected galore doors asking for help, including the UN, but no-one has heard my voice," she says.

"Where is the support? Don't I merit state arsenic a woman?"