On January 7, 2026, the Taliban’s emir [Hibatullah Akhundzada] issued a two-point decree formally endorsing a new Criminal Procedural Regulations for Courts (119 articles, 3 chapters, 10 sections)[…]
Article 4(5): The enforcement of Hadd (fixed punishments prescribed under Sharia) punishments pertains to the Imam, but tazeer (discretionary punishments determined by an authority) punishments may also be carried out by the husband and the master[…]
The regulation explicitly abandons the principle of equal protection under the law. It divides Afghan society into “free” and “enslaved” persons and further stratifies the population into four classes: religious scholars, elites such as tribal elders and merchants, the middle class, and those designated as “lower class”

Legal consequences are determined by social status rather than conduct. Elites are subject to warnings or summons, while poorer individuals face imprisonment, intimidation, and corporal punishment[…]
Article 15 compounds these violations by explicitly recognizing individuals as “free or enslaved,” treating enslavement as a lawful status within the criminal justice system. Any legal acknowledgment of slavery is per se unlawful under international human rights law[…]
Under Article 32, “If a husband strikes his wife with excessive beating resulting in fracture, injury, or the appearance of bruising[…]and the wife proves her claim before the judge, the husband is deemed a criminal; the judge shall sentence him to fifteen days of imprisonment”[…]Harm to animals carries a harsher penalty[…]
Article 58 mandates that “The judge shall sentence an apostate woman, for the purpose of compelling her to accept Islam, to life imprisonment, accompanied by ten lashes every three days”[…]
Article 18 imposes severe sanctions for criticism of the Taliban’s highest authority: “A person who insults the Imam is deemed a criminal; the judge shall sentence him, in addition to 39 lashes, to one year of imprisonment”