Child Bride's Landmark Divorce Canceled by Taliban

A child bride's landmark divorce from the man she was promised to at 7 years old has reportedly been revoked by the Taliban.

Bibi Nazdana's battle to become legally separated from her husband took two years. Her divorce is one of tens of thousands that were canceled just 10 days after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan three years ago.

Nazdana was promised to her husband, Hekmatullah, at age 7, and she told the BBC that he began "to demand" her when she was 15. Her marriage was known as a "bad marriage," which attempts to turn a family "enemy" into a "friend."

Upon this news, Nazdana said she immediately approached the United States-backed Afghan government at the time to file for separation from the man now in his 20s. Two years later, the court ruled in her favor.

"The court congratulated me and said, 'You are now separated and free to marry whomever you want,'" Nazdana recounted to the BBC.

However, her ex-husband appealed the ruling in 2021. By this time, the Taliban had taken over, and Nazdana was told she was no longer allowed to be in court because it "was against Sharia." Nazdana said that her brother was allowed to represent her instead.

"They told us if we didn't comply, they would hand my sister over to him [Nazdana's husband] by force," Shams, Nazdana's 28-year-old brother, told the outlet.

The ex-husband, now a newly registered member of the Taliban, won the case. Abdulwahid Haqani, a media officer for Afghanistan's Supreme Court, told the BBC that the court ruled in her ex-husband's favor because he "wasn't present," therefore meaning the divorce was invalid.

"The previous corrupt administration's decision to cancel Hekmatullah and Nazdana's marriage was against the Sharia and rules of marriage," Haqani told the outlet.

With the Taliban's takeover, all judges of all genders were removed, and replaced with people who supported their views. The militant group has vowed to deliver "justice" under Sharia, a version of Islamic law, and to do away with corruption.

With the new decision leaving concerns for Nazdana's safety, she fled the country with her brother.

Her case was just one of the thousands of cases reviewed by the Taliban.