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On January 7, the Taliban Emir signed a two-point decree: 119 articles, 3 chapters, 10 sections. New rules of criminal procedure for Afghan courts, effective immediately.
No public announcement, no debate, no dissemination by the authorities. The world only found out about them on January 21, when the Rawadari organization published a statement and a copy of the rules in Pashto on its website.
There's a word we thought had been relegated to the history books, at least on paper: slave. Article 15 of the new code uses it explicitly. The provision states that "the offender, whether free or slave, male or female, Muslim or non-Muslim" will be subject to tazeer punishment (discretionary punishment) if the crime does not provide for ḥadd punishment (fixed Sharia punishment).
In 2026, in Afghanistan, slavery is recognized as a legal status within the criminal justice system. We're not talking about a hidden cultural survival or informal practices. We're talking about a code of criminal procedure that formally divides society into free and enslaved people, and states this explicitly.
Article 9 divides Afghan society into a rigid hierarchy with four levels of punishment for the same crime. On the first rung are the ulemas and 'first degree' people: for them, the penalty of the tazer consists of a warning and 'sensitization'- the judge informs them that they have committed a reprehensible act. That's all.
Article 24 introduces an obligation that turns every Afghan citizen into an informer. If you witness or have knowledge ofc"subversive meetings or consultations of opponents of the system" and do not personally act against them or report them to the authorities, you will end up in prison for two years.
Article 58 is devoted exclusively to women. An apostate woman - one who abandons Islam - is sentenced to life imprisonment "with the aim of forcing her to accept Islam", with ten lashes every three days. Forever. Or until she gives in.
(©GreenMe.it 2026 / Managing Editor: Selma Keshkire- The Press Junction / Picture: Unsplash)