Women, who seek divorce, say the Taliban\u2019s new government has restricted their access to divorce proceedings and made it difficult for them to separate from their husbands since August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Taliban dissolved almost every organization which provided protection for women including the Ministry of Women Affairs. They have also fired all-female judges and prosecutors from the judiciary and invalidated the laws which protected women\u2019s rights including the right to demand separation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have been pursuing my divorce case for two months,\u201d Mina, 24 said. \u201cBut the Taliban is not pursuing my case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGetting divorce has become very difficult for women,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said her husband wouldn\u2019t dare to beat her during the former government because she had filed complaints with the Ministry of Women Affairs which had warned him not to resort to violence. But that protection is gone and her husband is beating her now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMen have become more violent after the Taliban\u201d came to power, Mina said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said she used to work before the Taliban and had financial independence. But she is at home now which has put her in an even more vulnerable position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mahnaz, 24, said her proceedings were almost finished and she was one step a way to separate from her husband before the Taliban came to power. She only needed to take two witnesses to the court and sign the divorce paper when the former government collapsed. But the divorce never happened. She has been living in limbo since then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said the courts have refused to finalize her divorce case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Taliban have established unofficial commissions to resolve legal disputes at the neighborhood level before the cases are officially referred to the courts. Local clerics and elders are members of these commissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mahnaz said she referred to one of these commissions in her neighborhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey ask me to tolerate without knowing about my situation,\u201d Amina said, referring to local clerics and elders. “I am in a complete limbo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even under the previous government, women couldn\u2019t directly file for divorce. They could file for separation, and for that to happen, wife had to prove the husband was violent, drug addict or couldn\u2019t support the family financially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amina, 27, a woman who recently came to the family court in Herat said her husband is a violent drug addict who is unable to provide for the family. She wants to divorce but her husband is refusing to accept it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have been going to the court for about five months,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd the court has not issued a final verdict.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amina is the mother of two children. She said she put up with her husband for many years for the sake of her children, but she can no \u201clonger tolerate it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her husband refused to appear in front of court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe always beats me,\u201d she said. Once, \u201che hit me with a brick on the head when I asked him to work and bring bread to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Samira Akbari, a former female prosecutor who has been dismissed by the Taliban, said the removal of female judges and prosecutors and dissolving women\u2019s rights organizations are the main obstacles on the way of women who seek divorce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe signs of the beating of women were checked by female prosecutors in the judiciary\u201d before Taliban government, she said. \u201cBut my question is how can a woman show the signs of her husband’s beating\u201d to a man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Taliban judiciary couldn\u2019t be reached for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note: We have not used the real names of Mina, Amina, and Mahnaz at their request.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" She said her husband wouldn\u2019t dare to beat her during the former government because she had filed complaints with the Ministry of Women Affairs which had warned him not to resort to violence. But that protection is gone and her husband is beating her now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7350,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"subtitle":"","format":"standard","video":"","gallery":"","source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"1","override":[{"template":"6","single_blog_custom":"","layout":"double-sidebar","sidebar":"","second_sidebar":"","share_position":"","share_float_style":"","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"","post_date_format_custom":"","post_reading_time_wpm":"","zoom_button_out_step":"1","zoom_button_in_step":"1","show_post_tag":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_inline_post_related":"1"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"","single_post_gallery_size":""}],"trending_post_position":"","trending_post_label":"","sponsored_post_label":"","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":""},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":""},"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[966,902],"tags":[1830,1831],"class_list":["post-7449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-en","category-reports-en","tag-difficulties-of-getting-divorce","tag-women-under-the-taliban"],"yoast_head":"\n