A child bride won the right to divorce - now the Taliban say it doesn't count

In a heart-wrenching twist of fate, a young Afghan woman who had courageously fought and won her right to divorce under the previous US-backed government now faces a harrowing reality. The Taliban, since their return to power in Afghanistan, have declared that her divorce does not count. This decision not only shatters her quest for freedom but also highlights the broader regression in women's rights under the Taliban's rule. The issue at hand is not isolated. The Taliban have been methodically revisiting rulings made during the tenure of the US-backed government, overturning thousands of cases, many of which had been landmark victories for women's rights. The repercussions of these reversals are profound, effectively erasing years of progress and trapping many women in unbearable situations. The young woman at the center of this case was once dubbed a child bride, forced into marriage at a tender age. Her journey towards obtaining a divorce was arduous, navigating a legal labyrinth that, at the time, had started to become more accommodating towards women's rights and their autonomy over their lives and bodies. Her victory was not just personal but symbolic, representing a beacon of hope for many other Afghan women in similar circumstances. However, with the Taliban's return, the narrative has drastically changed. The Taliban's stringent interpretation of Islamic law does not recognize the divorce granted to her, effectively invalidating her years of struggle and the subsequent freedom she had briefly enjoyed. The Taliban's stance on women's rights and their place in society