Taliban declares women "free," not "property," but nobody celebrates
Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have issued a "special decree" outlining women's rights under the regime, but getting an education or a job are not among them. The United States welcomed the decree but noted that more was needed to ensure women's rights in Afghanistan.
Women's rights activists in the country were entirely unimpressed, meanwhile, dismissing the new proclamation issued on Friday as Taliban posturing intended for the international community, not Afghan women.
The decree, attributed to Taliban supreme leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, bans child marriage and states that "no one can force a woman to marry by coercion or pressure."
Child marriage and forced marriages are common across much of rural Afghanistan and have been for centuries — even under the U.S.-backed government that held sway for 20 years until the Taliban's takeover in the summer. Girls are often given away as brides to resolve disputes and settle debts between rival tribes and families. Low-income families will commonly marry their young girls to much older men in exchange for a large payment or dowry.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/taliban-declares-women-free-not-property-but-nobody-celebrates/ar-AARw6qJ
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