Divorced Afghan women forced to return to abusive ex-husbands

Kabul:

Tortured for years by her ex-husband, who broke all her teeth, Marwa went into hiding with her eight children after her divorce was torn apart by Taliban commanders.

Marwa was one of a small number of women who, under the previous US-backed government, were given legal separation in Afghanistan, where women have no rights and domestic abuse is endemic.

When Taliban forces came to power in 2021, her husband claimed she was forced into a divorce and commanders ordered her back into their clutches.

“My daughters and I cried a lot that day,” 40-year-old Marwa, whose name has been changed for her own safety, told AFP.

“I said to myself, ‘Oh my God, the devil is back.'”

The Taliban government adheres to a strict interpretation of Islam and imposes severe restrictions on women’s lives in what the United Nations has called “gender apartheid”.

Lawyers told AFP that many women were reported to be dragged back into abusive marriages after Taliban commanders annulled their divorces.

For months Marwa had to suffer a new round of blows, locked in the house, with broken hands and broken fingers.

“There were days when I was unconscious, and my daughters would feed me,” she said.

“He used to pull my hair so hard that I was partially bald. He beat me so hard that all my teeth were broken.”

Mustering the strength to leave, she fled hundreds of kilometers (miles) to a relative’s home with her six daughters and two sons, who have all assumed fictitious names.

“My kids say, ‘Mom, it’s okay if we’re starving. At least we’re rid of the abuse,'” Marwa said, sitting on the broken floor of her bare house, prayer beads in hand Taking said.

“Nobody knows us here, not even our neighbors,” she said, fearing her husband would find her.

‘Islam allows divorce’

According to the UN mission in the country, nine out of 10 women in Afghanistan will experience physical, sexual or psychological violence from their partner.

Divorce, however, is often more taboo than abuse and the culture remains unforgiving of women who part ways with their husbands.

Under the previous US-backed government, divorce rates continued to rise in some cities, where small gains in women’s rights were largely limited to education and employment.

Women once blamed their fate for what happened to them, said Nazifa, a lawyer who has successfully handled nearly 100 divorce cases for abused women but who is now allowed to work in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Not there.

As awareness increased, women realized that it was possible to separate from abusive husbands.

“When there is no harmony left in the relationship between a husband and wife, Islam also allows divorce,” explained Nazeefa, who only wanted to give her first name.

Under the ousted regime, special family courts with female judges and lawyers were set up to hear such cases, but Taliban officials have made their new justice system an all-male affair.

Najifa told AFP that five of her former clients have reported being in a situation similar to Marwa’s.

Another lawyer, who did not want to be identified, told AFP she had recently witnessed a court case where a woman was fighting against being forcibly reunited with her ex-husband.

She said divorce under the Taliban government was limited to when a husband was a classified drug addict or had left the country.

“But in cases of domestic violence or when a husband does not agree to divorce, the court is not allowing them,” she said.

A nationwide network of shelters and services that once supported women has almost completely collapsed, while the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Human Rights Commission have been wiped out.

‘knock at the door’

Sana was 15 when she married a cousin who was 10 years older than her.

“He used to beat me if our child cried or the food was not good,” she said as she made tea on a gas stove at a house where she has been living in secret.

He used to say that women do not have the right to speak.

With the help of a free legal services project she obtained a divorce from her husband in court – but her relief was broken when Taliban commanders came knocking.

Fearful of losing custody of her four daughters, she returned to her ex-husband, who had by then married another woman.

She fled after announcing her daughters’ engagement to Taliban members.

“My daughters said, ‘Mother, we will commit suicide,'” Sana said.

She managed to collect some money and escape with her children, and with the help of a relative found a one-room house, with only a gas stove and a few cushions to sleep on.

“Every time there’s a knock on the door, I’m afraid he’s found me and come to take the kids.”

hard for kids

A Taliban official told AFP that officials would look into cases where previously divorced women were being forced to return to their former husbands.

Taliban Supreme Court spokesman Inayatullah said, “If we receive such complaints, we will investigate them according to Sharia.”

Asked whether the Taliban regime would accept divorces granted under the previous government, he said: “It is an important and complex issue.”

“Dar al-Ifta is looking into it. When it reaches a uniform decision, then we’ll see,” he said, referring to a court-affiliated body that issues rulings on Sharia.

For Marwa and her daughters, who make a living by sewing clothes, the trauma has left deep psychological scars.

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to marry them,” said Marwa, looking at her daughters.

“They tell me, ‘Mom, seeing how bad your life has been, we hate the word husband.'”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)