The Afghan Taliban government’s new decree governing the separation of spouses “reinforces systemic discrimination” and erodes the rights of Afghan women and girls, the United Nations said on Thursday.

Published in mid-May, the 31-article code sets out various grounds for separation in Afghanistan, including a husband’s prolonged disappearance, “incompatibility” between couples, renunciation of Islam and “failure on the part of the husband”.

The decree, which appeared in the country’s Official Gazette, also states that marriage contracts drawn up by relatives “on behalf of a minor boy or girl” can be annulled, which suggests child marriage is permitted in Afghanistan, according to the UN.

In most cases, the procedures for women seeking a separation are more complicated than those for men.

The document, approved by Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, “is part of a broader and deeply concerning trajectory in which the rights of Afghan women and girls are being eroded”, said Georgette Gagnon, deputy special representative of the UN secretary-general.

It “further entrenches systemic discrimination in law and practice”, the UN statement said, adding that women and girls are denied “autonomy, opportunities and access to justice”.

Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban government has banned girls from continuing their education beyond primary school, walking in parks and going to gyms, swimming pools or beauty salons.

They are required to cover themselves from head to toe and are barred from many jobs.

Any breach of the rules can result in arrest and imprisonment.

The UN’s Afghanistan mission (UNAMA) said that following a decree issued in 2021 in which the Taliban authorities had “recognised certain rights for women, including women’s consent to marriage”, subsequent legislation has ultimately eroded those protections.

Article 5 of the decree has drawn widespread criticism.

It sets out the procedures for the separation of minors whose family members enter into a marriage contract on their behalf, which “implies that child marriage is permitted”, according to UNAMA.

“If any relative other than the father or grandfather concludes a marriage contract on behalf of a minor boy or a minor girl with a compatible spouse and for a customary dower, the contract shall be valid,” the decree says, before outlining how the boy or girl can choose to annul at puberty if approved by a court.

According to a traditional practice that has been in place in some families in Afghanistan for decades, parents promise that their child will marry a child from the other family.

However, the marriage contract is only concluded later, as sexual relations before puberty are prohibited under Islamic law.

The Taliban government’s Ministry of Justice did not respond when asked by AFP whether the minor should be required to live with their spouse at any age.

Marriage was only permitted from the age of 16 for girls under the law in force until the Taliban took back power.

The decree makes a distinction between girls’ and boys’ option to annul on reaching puberty, saying that if a “virgin girl” had previously remained silent, the decree considers her choice to separate as “invalidated”.

However, “the choice upon obtaining puberty of a boy… is not invalidated by silence”.

Government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid dismissed criticism to the decree, telling the state-run RTA television channel on Wednesday it was coming from people “hostile” to Islam.

He defended fathers and grandfathers having authority over their children, including the power to enter into a marriage contract, provided they were “kind and healthy”.

However, he said such cases would be rare because the Taliban “prohibits marrying off a girl without her permission”.

The procedures also set out how a woman may remarry if her husband has gone missing, but not in the event of war.

In such cases, “the wife shall wait for such a period until his death becomes certain and until the people of his generation (peers) have all passed away”.

If the missing person were to reappear after the woman had remarried, it would be up to him to decide whether to “keep” her, divorce or opt for mutual separation.

Crowds in Bangladesh are flocking to snap photographs with an unlikely social media star — an albino buffalo with flowing blond hair nicknamed “Donald Trump” due to be sacrificed within days.

Owner Zia Uddin Mridha, 38, said his brother named the 700 kilogramme bull over its flowing helmet of hair resembling the signature look of the US president.

“My younger brother picked this name because of the buffalo’s extraordinary hair,” he told AFP at his farm in Narayanganj, just outside the capital Dhaka.

Mridha said a constant stream of curious visitors — social media fans, onlookers and children — have come throughout May, eager to see the internet sensation.

He watched as men poured a cool bucket of water over the bull’s head, running a pink brush through its blond combover, neatly tucked between sweeping curved horns.

“The only luxury he enjoys is bathing four times a day,” Mridha said, stressing that the similarities between the bull and the president stopped at the hair.

Officials from the livestock department said albino buffaloes are extremely rare, and appear white or pink due to a lack of melanin production.

Eidul Azha

Muslim-majority Bangladesh, a South Asian nation of 170 million people, is preparing for Eidul Azha later this month.

More than 12 million livestock — including goats, sheep, cows and buffaloes — are expected to be sacrificed during the holiday, when many poorer families get a rare chance to feast on meat.

Mridha said the stress of the crowds had caused the buffalo to lose weight, forcing restrictions on public viewing.

Still, children continue to peer through the gates for a glimpse.

Businessman Faisal Ahmed, 30, was among those who managed to get close, snapping photographs.

“Truly, the features are similar between the buffalo and President Donald Trump,” Ahmed told AFP, after arriving with five friends and relatives to see the animal.

“My nephew took a one-hour boat journey just to come and see ‘Donald Trump’,” he added.

‘Making a sacrifice’

While the Trump buffalo has become a national star online, it is not the only buffalo with a nickname.

His companions include an aggressive bull named “Tufan,” meaning “storm,” a generously sized animal called “Fat Boy”, and the gentle-natured “Sweet Boy.”

One golden-haired bull was named after Brazilian footballer Neymar for his bleached-blond cut.

Mridha, who has cared for his four-year-old buffalo for the past year, looked with affection at the animal, snuffling through a bowl of fodder.

“I am going to miss Donald Trump, but that is the core spirit of Eidul Azha — making a sacrifice.”

LONDON: A former British pirate radio station on Wednesday apologised “for any distress caused” after accidentally announcing the death of King Charles III.

The erroneous announcement was made on Tuesday afternoon due to a computer error at its main studio in Maldon in eastern Essex, Radio Caroline said in a post on social media.

The error had triggered the so-called death of a monarch procedure “which all UK stations hold in readiness while hoping not to require”, wrote station manager Peter Moore.

“Radio Caroline then fell silent as would be required, which alerted us to restore programming and issue an on-air apology,” he said on Facebook post.

“Caroline has been pleased to broadcast Her Majesty the Queen’s and now the King’s, Christmas message and we hope to do so for many years to come,” he said, referring to the monarch’s traditional Christmas Day message to the nation.

“We apologise to HM (his majesty) the king and to our listeners for any distress caused,” Moore added. The mishap on Tuesday came as Charles and Queen Camilla were in Northern Ireland, where they joined a performance with an Irish folk group.

The post did not say how long it was before the mistake was discovered, but the domestic Press Association news agency reported that on Wednesday afternoon, playback for Tuesday’s broadcast between 1:58pm and 5pm was unavailable on the station’s website.

Esta­bl­ished in 1964 to challenge the BBC’s broadcasting mon­opoly, Radio Caroline previously operated from ships off the English coast. After legislation in 1967 forced many pirate broadcasters to close, it continued intermittently before ending offshore broadcasts in 1990.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2026