Expert Consultation and Declarations on Afghan Marriage, Mahr and Custody Matters

U.S. law generally asks first whether a marriage was valid where it was celebrated. A nikah concluded in Afghanistan is judged under Afghan law — the Civil Code, the Shia Personal Status Law where it applies, and Hanafi jurisprudence — and then against the forum’s own limits. An expert declaration establishes the Afghan half of that question: whether the nikah met Afghan requirements and which record proves it.

A nikah nama is a marriage contract signed before a mullah. A nikah khat is the certificate an Afghan court issues when the marriage is registered, as Article 61 of the Civil Code requires. Many Afghan marriages were never registered, especially during war and displacement. How an unregistered nikah is treated, and how it can be proved without a nikah khat, is answered in the declaration with the governing articles and the evidence available.

It depends on the state. U.S. courts treat mahr as a contract and apply neutral principles of contract law: New Jersey enforced one in Odatalla (2002); Washington refused one in Obaidi (2010), an Afghan case, because the husband could not read the Farsi he signed. Our declaration explains what the clause means under Afghan law and custom, so counsel and the court can apply the state’s contract rules.

No. Mahr belongs to the wife. Walwar in Pashtun custom and shirbaha in Dari-speaking communities are payments to the bride’s family; toyana goes toward wedding costs; jahez is what the bride brings to the marriage. Courts and translations often call mahr a ‘dowry’, and the confusion can change who is owed what. A declaration separates them using the document and the family’s practice.

The court has to choose a denomination, a unit and a date. A mahr fixed in gold in 2005 was worth about 7.7 times its 2005 dollar value at 2025 average gold prices; an Afghani sum moves with an exchange rate that swung sharply after August 2021; and the weight of a misqal of gold has to be fixed before any conversion. We set out the options and the data behind each. The court chooses.

The Afghan Civil Code gives the mother custody (hizanat) of a boy until age seven and a girl until age nine; the father remains the legal guardian (wilayat) throughout and takes custody after those ages. The Shia Personal Status Law, a mother’s remarriage and a court’s findings can change the outcome. Courts abroad apply their own best-interests standard; the declaration explains the Afghan rules they are asked to weigh.

Afghanistan is not a party to the 1980 Hague Abduction Convention and has no bilateral agreement with the United States on parental abduction, and the U.S. Embassy in Kabul suspended operations on 31 August 2021. Whether an order made abroad would be recognized in Afghanistan today, and which other risk factors apply, is set out in our declaration for relocation, travel-consent and abduction-prevention hearings.

Recognition depends on the forum’s rules and on whether the divorce took effect under Afghan law. Since August 2021, lawyers have reported divorces granted by courts of the former Islamic Republic being annulled by the de facto authorities, and in May 2026 Decree No. 18 set new rules for judicial separation. We document which rules applied when the divorce occurred and how the record was made.

Decree No. 18, the Code on Judicial Separation of Spouses, was gazetted by the de facto Ministry of Justice on 14 May 2026. It sets the grounds on which women may seek judicial separation and sets no minimum marriage age, and, according to UNAMA, allows a girl’s silence at puberty to be read as consent. It matters abroad whenever a court must decide whether a marriage or separation in Afghanistan was effective.

Under INA § 101(a)(35), a marriage in which the parties were not physically present together is not recognized for immigration purposes unless it was later consummated. Afghan nikahs are often concluded through a wakil when one spouse is abroad. Our declaration explains how the proxy nikah was performed under Afghan law and what the record shows; evidence of consummation is for the petitioner and counsel.

A consulting expert advises counsel privately and is usually not disclosed; a testifying expert signs a declaration or report and can be deposed. Many matters start with a privileged consultation to decide whether expert evidence will help. We act in either role and keep the roles separate, so the consultation can stay protected where the forum allows.

A consultation typically follows within five business days of instruction and a declaration within two to three weeks, with expedited schedules for fixed hearing dates. Fees are quoted in writing for each stage after a conflict check and a review of the questions; testimony is quoted separately. Our fees never depend on the outcome of the case.

Either, through counsel — and for children’s counsel, guardians ad litem, courts and agencies. An expert’s duty is to the court, so our account of Afghan law does not change with the party who instructs us. A conflict check runs before we read any document.

We are instructed through counsel, courts and agencies; we do not give legal advice to individuals or represent parties. If you are a party to a case, ask your attorney or legal aid provider to contact us. Our certified translation service can translate your Afghan marriage or divorce documents directly.

Pashto, Dari and 22 more Afghan languages, among them Uzbeki, Turkmeni, Balochi and Pashayi; our Dari work includes the Hazaragi dialect. Declarations are written in English, with certified translations produced in-house into French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish, Arabic, Urdu, Hindi, Hebrew, Russian and Chinese where the forum requires.