In early January, Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada quietly enacted the expansive “Criminal Procedure Code for Courts,” which effectively turns violence into everyday rule, patriarchy into official policy, and ideology into enforceable law.

The Taliban's decrees over the past two years have resulted in the severe marginalization of women and girls in all aspects of Afghan society, which they exploit to gain attention on the global stage.

Given entrenched cultural norms, the U.S. and the international community should demand that the new Taliban regime uphold the basic rights of Afghan women as defined by the Afghan constitution.