This archive documents and categorises Taliban decrees, directives, and enforcement actions, showing both how they are issued and which rights they affect. It is designed for journalists, activists, researchers and others who need clear, verified information on Taliban policies and their impact across Afghanistan.

The taxonomy below breaks each record into three key dimensions:

1. Type of Decree – The legal form and authority of the directive.
2. Delivery Method – How it was communicated or made public.
3. Area of Decree – The specific rights and protections it affects.

All Taliban directives — whether written or verbal — are enforced as law in areas under their control. This resource makes them searchable, filterable, and easy to analyse.

These categories aid clarity and analysis but are imperfect; classification involves judgment, and some documents may overlap or defy simple labels. Whenever possible, we provide original source documents. If unavailable, we offer clearly labeled, cross-checked secondary sources — such as media reports or human rights investigations — until originals are secured and verified.

Civil & Political Rights

• Arbitrary Punishment – Involves punishment imposed without due process or legal justification.
• Assembly & Association – Covers the right to gather, form groups, unions, or political organizations.
• Expression – Pertains to speech, opinion, artistic expression, and access to information.
• Family & Privacy Rights – Includes protections for family life, personal autonomy, and freedom from undue state interference.
• Justice & Fair Trial – Concerns due process, judicial proceedings, and access to impartial legal remedies.
• Liberty & Security – Addresses freedom from unlawful detention and protection of personal security.
• Participation in Public Life – Covers political participation, voting, and eligibility for public office.
• Press & Censorship – Relates to media regulation, censorship, and freedom of the press.
• Religion & Belief – Encompasses the right to hold, change, and practice religious or personal beliefs.
• Torture & Ill-Treatment – Prohibits cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
• Freedom of Movement – Covers the right to travel, change residence, or cross borders freely.

Economic, Social & Cultural Rights

• Education – Covers access to learning, educational regulation, and the right to schooling.
• Health – Pertains to availability and quality of healthcare and public health policy.
• Work & Livelihoods – Includes labor rights, employment access, and economic protections.
• Cultural Rights – Protects engagement in cultural life, identity, and heritage.

Cross-Cutting or Vulnerable Group Rights

• Gender Equality – Addresses legal equality, protections, and access to rights regardless of gender.
• Minority Rights – Protects cultural and political rights of ethnic, linguistic, and religious minorities.
• Non-Discrimination – Prohibits unequal treatment based on identity, belief, or status.
• Disability Rights – Covers access, inclusion, and protections for persons with disabilities.
• Forced Marriage – Addresses coercion in marriage and safeguards against abuse.
• Personal Autonomy – Protects individual decision-making in matters of body, belief, and life choices.
• PVPV (Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice) refers to the Taliban’s formal legal code regulating behavior across nearly all aspects of life. While the law is comprehensive, we’ve broken it down by individual article to make its contents searchable and easier to analyze by theme.

• Draft Bill – Proposed law circulated before approval.
• Media Report – External news coverage of Taliban actions or policies.
• Official Announcement – Formal public statement via radio, TV, or print.
• Official Gazette – Published record of official rulings.
• Official Inquiry – Investigation initiated by Taliban authorities.
• Official Letter – Written instructions for enforcement or administration.
• Official Newsletter – Regular publication summarising Taliban actions.
• Press/News Conference – Live announcement or Q&A with officials.
• Speech – Address by Taliban leaders, often at religious/political events.
• Survivor Testimony – First-hand account from someone affected.
• Video Clip – Recorded announcement or enforcement action.
• Fatwa (Mosque Announcement) – Religious ruling from Taliban-aligned clerics.
• Media Statement – Formal response or position given to media.
• Official Declaration – Policy pronouncement with legal or social impact.
• Official Guide – Instructional document on law or decree application.
• Official Meeting – Gathering where officials convey directives/orders.
• Official Notice – Brief public posting of new rules.
• Phone Call – Direct verbal instruction from an official.
• Social Media – Taliban announcements online (e.g., Twitter, WhatsApp).
• Supreme Court Newsletter – Bulletin with legal interpretations/verdicts.
• UN Letter – Correspondence between the UN and Taliban.