Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, fragile policy gains for women’s rights have been dramatically reversed. This report provides the latest evidence demonstrating the impact of Taliban edicts on the lives of women and girls. It explores how changing social norms around child marriage in Afghanistan are connected to repression from a new political order under the Taliban regime. The research shows how political insecurity, economic precarity, bans on education, and ongoing gender persecution have negatively impacted social norms around age of marriage. Families are increasingly marrying off their girls to cope with closures of education and employment opportunities – driven also by fear of forced marriage to Taliban leaders. This report was authored by Evie Browne, Tony Kamninga, Ayesha Khan, and Mariam Safi, Executive Director of the Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies (DROPS) and Steering Committee Member of the World Movement for Democracy.

Read the report here.