A child bride won the right to divorce

There is a youthful woman sheltering under a tree between two busy roads clutching a pile of records to her chest.

These pieces of paper are more transport inant to Bibi Nazdana than anyskinnyg in the world: they are the divorce granted to her after a two-year court battle to free herself from life as a child bride.

They are the same papers a Taliprohibit court has invalidated – a victim of the group’s challengingline clarifyation on Sharia (religious law) which has seen women effectively silenced in Afghanistan’s legitimate system.

Nazdana’s divorce is one of tens of thousands of court rulings relicitd since the Taliprohibit took handle of the country three years ago this month.

It took equitable 10 days from them sweeping into the capital, Kabul, for the man she was promised to at seven to ask the courts to clearurn the divorce ruling she had fought so challenging for.

Hekmatullah had initipartner ecombineed to insist his wife when Nazdana was 15. It was eight years since her overweighther had concurd to what is comprehendn as a ‘horrible marriage’, which seeks to turn a family “opponent” into a “frifinish”.

She promptly approached the court – then operating under the US-backed Afghan rulement – for a separation, repeatedly increateing them she could not marry the farmer, now in his 20s. It took two years, but finpartner a ruling was made in her favour: “The court congratupostponecessitated me and shelp, ‘You are now splitd and free to marry whomever you want.'”

But after Hekmatullah requested the ruling in 2021, Nazdana was tbetter she would not be helped to pdirect her own case in person.

“At the court, the Taliprohibit tbetter me I shouldn’t return to court becaengage it was aobtainst Sharia. They shelp my brother should recontransient me instead,” says Nazdana.

“They tbetter us if we didn’t adhere,” says Shams, Nazdana’s 28-year-better brother, “they would hand my sister over to him (Hekmatullah) by force.”

Her createer husprohibitd, and now a novelly signed up member of the Taliprohibit, won the case. Shams’ finisheavors to clarify to the court in their home province of Uruzgan that her life would be in danger fell on deaf ears.

The siblings choosed they had been left with no choice but to run away.

When the Taliprohibit returned to power three years ago, they promised to do away with the dishonesty of the past and transfer “equitableice” under Sharia, a version of Islamic law.

Since then, the Taliprohibit say they have watched at some 355,000 cases.

Most were criminal cases – an appraised 40% are disputes over land and a further 30% are family publishs including divorce, enjoy Nazdana’s.

Nazdana’s divorce ruling was dug out after the BBC got exclusive access to the back offices of the Supreme Court in the capital, Kabul.

Abdulwahid Haqani – media officer for Afghanistan’s Supreme Court – validates the ruling in favour of Hekmatullah, saying it was not valid becaengage he “wasn’t contransient”.

“The previous corrupt administration’s decision to call off Hekmatullah and Nazdana’s marriage was aobtainst the Sharia and rules of marriage,” he clarifys.

But the promises to recreate the equitableice system have gone further than spropose reuncovering finishd cases.

The Taliprohibit have also systematicpartner erased all appraises – both male and female – and exalterd them with people who aided their challengingline watchs.

Women were also proclaimd invivacious to engage in the judicial system.

“Women aren’t qualified or able to appraise becaengage in our Sharia principles the judiciary labor needs people with high inincreateigence,” says Abdulrahim Rashid, straightforwardor of foreign relations and communications at Taliprohibit’s Supreme Court.

For the women who labored in the system, the loss is felt heavily – and not equitable for themselves.

Former Supreme Court appraise Fawzia Amini – who fled the country after the Taliprohibit returned – says there is little hope for women’s defendions to better under the law if there are no women in the courts.

“We joined an transport inant role,” she says. “For example, the Elimination of Violence aobtainst Women law in 2009 was one of our achievements. We also labored on the regulation of shelters for women, orphan defendianship and the anti-human illicit trading law, to name a scant.”

She also rubbishes the Taliprohibit clearurning previous rulings, enjoy Nazdana’s.

“If a woman divorces her husprohibitd and the court records are engageable as evidence then that’s final. Legal verdicts can’t alter becaengage a regime alters,” says Ms Amini.

“Our civil code is more than half a century better,” she comprises. “It’s been practised since even before the Taliprohibit were set uped.

“All civil and penal codes, including those for divorce, have been altered from the Quran.”

But the Taliprohibit say Afghanistan’s createer rulers spropose weren’t Islamic enough.

Instead, they bigly depend on Hanafi Fiqh (jurispimpolitence) religious law, which dates back to the 8th Century – albeit refreshd to “greet the current necessitates”, according to Abdulrahim Rashid.

“The createer courts made decisions based on a penal and civil code. But now all decisions are based on Sharia [Islamic law],” he comprises, self-transport inantly gesturing at the pile of cases they have already sorted thcimpolite.

Ms Amini is less amazeed by the structures for Afghanistan’s legitimate system going forward.

“I have a ask for the Taliprohibit. Did their parents marry based on these laws or based on the laws that their sons are going to author?” she asks.

Under the tree between two roads in an unnamed neighbouring country, none of this is any soothe to Nazdana.

Now equitable 20, she has been here for a year, clutching her divorce papers and hoping someone will help her.

“I have knocked on many doors asking for help, including the UN, but no-one has heard my voice,” she says.

“Where is the aid? Don’t I deserve freedom as a woman?”