The organization "Ravadari" posted this document on its website and noted that it legalizes discrimination on various grounds, including gender, religious, and class. Moreover, the code contains provisions that permit slavery, the killing of dissenters, and violence, particularly against women and children.
Bilkis Ahmadi, a human rights activist, emphasizes that the new code provides more protection for animal rights than for women's rights. The foundation established by Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate of 2014 for her fight for women's rights, stated that this document completes the process of legalizing "gender apartheid" in Afghanistan.
Many human rights and feminist organizations highlighted one specific point from the new code.
Article 32 states: "If a husband inflicts severe beatings on his wife, leading to fractures or bruises, and if the wife can prove her case to the judge, the husband will be found guilty. The judge is obliged to impose a punishment of 15 days in prison."
At the same time, Article 70 stipulates: "A person who forces animals (such as dogs, camels, sheep) or birds (chickens, quails, partridges) to fight is considered a criminal. The judge must sentence them to five months in prison."
Thus, according to the new code, organizing cockfighting is regarded as a more serious crime than inflicting bodily harm on a spouse.
