Abdullah Sarhadi, a former Taliban governor of Jawzjan, described women as “unintelligent” and “deficient in reason” during a BBC interview while dealing with the divorce request of an 18-year-old woman.
According to the BBC, the young woman, whose real name has not been disclosed, told Sarhadi that she had decided to leave her husband after months of abuse and beatings and was unwilling to withdraw her divorce request.
Sarhadi reportedly tried to persuade her to remain in the marriage and asked who would be willing to marry her after a divorce. The woman responded that her “honor and dignity” had already been damaged.
The Taliban official then described women as “unintelligent” and “deficient in reason” in the presence of officials, guards and local elders. Some of the men present reportedly laughed at the remarks.
Sarhadi eventually proposed that the woman be given a separate room and that her husband be warned not to beat her again, saying he would be imprisoned if the abuse continued.
The woman’s father, however, said the family would pursue the divorce through the courts.
The remarks come as women and girls in Afghanistan continue to face extensive restrictions under Taliban rule. Girls remain barred from secondary schools beyond sixth grade and universities, while women face restrictions on employment, movement and participation in public life.
