'Absolute monsters': Swara Bhasker condemns Taliban's laws allowing domestic violence

Actress Swara Bhasker has condemned the Taliban’s newly introduced penal code that “legalises” domestic violence against women. Making the situation even worse for women, the new regulation normalises violence against women, giving husbands the right to punish their wives.

The new laws passed in the country have garnered massive backlash from across the world. Recently, Bhasker, who is quite vocal on social issues, slammed the new law, calling it “Unf****ng-believable!!!!”

Taking to her Instagram stories, Swara wrote,''Honestly among the worst specimens of the human race, relentlessly cruel and brutal, absolute monsters the Taliban. An insult to humanity and to the religion they claim to represent. Absolutely despicable."

Apart from Bhaskar, Gauahar Khan has also slammed, calling it “Disgusting.”

Swara Bhasker Photograph: (X)

What does the Taliban's new law say?

A newly introduced penal code in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan gives husbands the right to physically punish their wives. However, domestic violence is punishable only when the beating is excessive and the injury is visible on the wife’s body.

Article 32 highlights, as quoted in a report by the Georgetown Institute for Women, “If a husband strikes his wife with excessive beating resulting in fracture, injury, or the appearance of bruising on her body, and the wife proves her claim before the judge, the husband is deemed a criminal; the judge shall sentence him to fifteen days of imprisonment.”

Reportedly, the latest regulation treats married women as their husbands' "property”. The new law also says that if a woman leaves home without permission, she will be imprisoned for three months under the Taliban regime. Under the new code, if an Afghan woman proves that she has been assaulted by her spouse, then the husband will be given a maximum sentence of 15 days.