RASC News Agency: The Taliban’s reintroduction of slavery in Afghanistan removes all doubts: they intend to govern the country in a backward-looking, repressive manner.
On January 4, 2026, the Taliban quietly enacted a new Criminal Procedure Code, distributed directly to provincial courts and judges without public announcement, explanation, or debate. While it appeared as a routine administrative update, this law in fact institutionalizes a legal system of totalitarian control over Afghanistan society.
For weeks, the law attracted little international attention. Its contents were revealed only through the persistent efforts of Afghanistani lawyers and human rights groups in exile. Far from a simple administrative act, the code solidifies the Taliban’s domination by embedding repression into the legal framework.
Unlike the visible, short-term terror of ISIS, which provoked resistance and international intervention, the Taliban’s strategy relies on quiet, normalized legal oppression. By embedding control within judicial procedures, the law ensures that repression appears routine, technical, and “legitimate” rather than violent and arbitrary.
The code is lengthy, procedural, and written in neutral legal language, but it dictates:
• Who is protected under the law
• What constitutes harm
• When suffering is legally recognized
Crucially, violence against women is not effectively prohibited; only harms deemed sufficient for judges to act are treated as crimes. Coercion, detention, threats, and forced submission largely fall outside the scope of legal scrutiny. Women fleeing abuse may themselves be criminalized, and those sheltering them face legal risk.
The law also maintains distinctions between “free” and “enslaved” individuals, a concept entirely anachronistic in the 21st century. Dependence is not a social failure but a legalized status.
Victoria Fontan warns that while U.S. policymakers often view the Taliban as unstable or ad hoc, this law reveals the regime is building a resilient legal apparatus capable of withstanding sanctions, diplomatic isolation, and international indifference.
• Contrast with post-9/11 U.S. torture definitions: Just as U.S. law narrowed definitions of torture to permit certain abuses under “legal” frameworks, the Taliban’s code defines when violence matters legally, normalizing systematic repression.
• Institutionalized, silent control: Unlike ISIS, which relied on visible terror, the Taliban rely on administrative legality to entrench obedience and neutralize resistance.
The code exemplifies how a regime can consolidate power without overt terror, international recognition, or continuous coercion. By embedding repression into judicial procedures, resistance becomes more difficult, and societal autonomy is eroded.
The broader lesson is stark: international policies focused only on security coordination, sanctions, or humanitarian exceptions may misinterpret the Taliban’s true capacity to maintain authoritarian control. Afghanistan is becoming a case study in the survival of authoritarian systems through law, rather than overt violence.
The tragedy is not only that these measures occur but that they unfold quietly, unnoticed by the global community, normalizing systematic oppression and redefining legal justice for an entire society.
Author: Dr. Victoria Fontan, Visiting Fellow at the Center for South Asia, Stanford University, and Co-Chair of the Women’s Education Alliance in Afghanistan; former Director of the American University of Afghanistan.
By Victoria Fontan
