Taliban ‘legitimising child marriage’ with new law, activists warn

Women protesting against child marriage in Kabul in March. On the wall they have written: ‘We are the voice of the victims. No to child marriage.’ Photograph: Rukhshana Media

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.

There are no official statistics on forced and underage marriages in Afghanistan, but activists say it has risen at an alarming rate in recent years, driven by the ban on girls being in education after the age of 11.