The decree, which sets out the rules governing marriage and property for women, states that women should not be forced into marriage and that widows have a share in their husbands property. "A woman is not a property, but a noble and free human being; no one can give her to anyone in exchange for peace...or to end animosity," said the Taliban decree, released by spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid.
The Taliban have been placed under immense pressure to support the rights of women by the international community, which has mostly frozen funds for Afghanistan since the group seized control of the country. Instead, in their four months of rule, the Taliban's leaders have imposed limits on girls' education and banned women from certain workplaces, stripping away rights they had fought tirelessly for over the last two decades.
