A new decree issued by Afghanistan’s de facto authorities on divorce and judicial separation has drawn sharp criticism from the United Nations, which warned that the measure deepens discrimination against women and girls.

Axar.az reports, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Decree No. 18 establishes an unequal legal framework in which men retain the unilateral right to divorce, while women can seek separation only through restrictive and complex judicial procedures.

“Decree No. 18 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 and Officer-in-Charge of UNAMA.

“The Decree further institutionalizes discrimination and, when combined with restrictions on girls’ education and women’s public participation, entrenches a system in which Afghan women and girls are denied autonomy, opportunity, and access to justice,” she added.

UNAMA also expressed concern that some provisions of the decree effectively permit child marriage and allow a girl’s silence after reaching puberty to be interpreted as consent to marriage.