Taliban's Slave Code: Beat Wives But No Bones Broken Allowed

Hierarchy: Clerics Rule Over All

Another part of the penal code reportedly divides society into several hierarchies, with punishments varying according to one’s place in that hierarchy. The code is said to distinguish punishments based on whether an individual is considered “free” or a “slave,” which sets a strict, caste-like hierarchy in Afghan society.
Under the 90-page document, signed by the group’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, religious leaders sit at the top of the hierarchy, followed by elites, and the middle class and lower class. 

Women Equated to Slaves in New Code

Under it women are deemed identical with "slaves," with provisions encouraging either "slave masters" or husbands to inflict discretionary punishments (such as beats) to their wives or subordinates. Islam’s clerics should punish serious crimes under the code, rather than correctional services.
For lesser offenses, the code stipulates “ta’zir” (discretionary punishment), which in an instance of a wife as the “offender” could mean a beating inflicted by her husband. 

Proving Abuse? Cover Up and Bring Mahram

While the code authoritatively allows women to have legal remedies if assaulted, this is not easy. Women have to show the judge evidence for a serious bodily injury by showing their injuries while remaining fully covered and accompanied by their husband or a male chaperone (mahram).
The regulations impose jail terms of up to three months in relation to a married woman who decides to visit relatives without her husband’s permission – including when seeking refuge from attacks. 

Based on the views of a legal adviser in Kabul who spoke on anonymity, justice for assault under Taliban law is an extremely lengthy and difficult process for most women. She discussed a recent time a woman was beaten by a Taliban guard after she visited her husband in prison. When the woman lodged a complaint, authorities said it would not be considered unless she showed up with a male chaperone, her husband, who had been jailed. 

From Rights to 15-Day Max Sentences

The code represents a drastic departure from the legal safeguards introduced before by the NATO-backed government, where forced marriage, rape and other forms of gender-based violence were made illegal and penal measures for domestic violence against women ranged from three months to a year.
Under the new code, even once women successfully overcome all legal/social barriers to demonstrating serious assault by their spouse, the maximum sentence that can be imposed on the husband is 15 days.