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Afghanistan: Parents ‘marry’ little girls in exchange for money to escape starvation

Unemployed and indebted, the Fazal, worker in a brick kiln in Afghanistan, said the country’s collapsing economy has left him with a tough choice – to marry his young daughters or let his family starve to death.

Last month, he took $ 3,000 to hand over his daughters, ages 13 and 15, to men twice their age. If the money runs out, he may have to do the same with his 7-year-old daughter, he said.

“I had no other way to feed my family and pay my debt. “What else could I do?” He told Thomson Reuters Foundation from the Afghan capital, the Kabul. “I really hope I don’t have to marry my youngest daughter.”

Child marriage has risen in poverty since the Taliban seized power 100 days ago on August 15, with reports of impoverished parents promising even babies for future marriages in exchange for money, as women’s rights activists say. They themselves predicted that the percentage of child marriages – which was common even before the return of Taliban—May double in the coming months.

“My heart freezes to hear such stories είναι It is not marriage. “It’s child rape,” she said Wazma Frog, a well – known activist for women ‘s rights in Afghanistan.

She said she hears such cases every day – often involving girls under the age of 10, although it is unclear whether young girls will be forced to have sex before puberty.

According to UNICEF, there are reliable testimonies for families who offer their daughters, up to 20 days old, for a future marriage in exchange for money.

The Afghanistan, which has been brought to its knees by drought and economic collapse, will be one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, according to the services of the United States.

As winter approaches, its services UN They say millions of people are on the brink of starvation and 97% of households could fall below the poverty line by mid-2022.

The sudden return of the hardline Islamist organization to power resulted in billions of dollars in assets Afghans to “freeze” abroad and stop most of the international aid. Food prices have skyrocketed and millions of people are unemployed or unpaid.

THE Φρογκ He said families marry their daughters to reduce the number of mouths they need to feed and to get money, usually from $ 500 to $ 2,000, with younger girls receiving higher amounts.

Parents also hand over their daughters to settle their debts. THE Φρογκ reported a case where a homeowner took his tenant’s nine-year-old daughter when he could no longer pay the rent.

In the northwest Afghanistan, the Φρογκ said another man left his five children in a mosque because he could not feed them. The three girls, estimated to be all under 13, got married on the same day.

“The number of cases has increased so much because of starvation. “People have nothing and can not feed their children,” she said Φρογκ, its founder Women & Peace Studies Organization. “It is completely illegal and not allowed by religion,” she added.

THE UNICEF announced that it has launched a financial assistance program to help reduce the risk of starvation and child marriage, and that it is in contact with religious leaders to stop child-related ceremonies.

Before the rise of Taliban in power, the legal minimum age for marriage was 16 for girls – below the internationally recognized age of 18.

The Taliban say they only recognize her law Sharia, which does not provide for a minimum age, leaving this issue open for interpretation.

Growing debt

The worker Fazal he said his problems started when the financial crisis froze construction papers. Like the other workers, he was paid $ 1,000 in advance for a six-month job.

With the demand for bricks decreasing, his boss told him to return the deposit, but Fazal he had already spent most of the money on the medical care of his ailing wife.

Residents of the area say many other kiln workers were forced to marry their young girls to repay the advances they had received.

According to the latest nationwide data, 28% of girls in Afghanistan get married before they turn 18 and 4% before they turn 15.

However, the Φρογκ and the activist Jamila Afghani predicted that up to half of the girls could be forced into marriage before they turn 18 if the crisis continues.

Girls who marry at a young age are at greater risk of marital rape, domestic violence, exploitation and dangerous pregnancy complications.

“It destroys their lives – their psychological, emotional, physical and sexual health,” she said. Afghan, who is chairman of the department of the organization Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom in the Afghanistan. “These girls are often treated as maids, as slaves.”

THE Afghan said activists recently intervened to stop a 9-year-old girl from marrying a 30-year-old man in exchange for 50,000 afghanis ($ 538) in the province Gazni.

Closed schools

Rights experts said the exclusion from them Taliban of girls from secondary education also forces parents to marry their daughters.

“The two most important risk factors for child marriage are poverty and lack of access to education,” she said. Heather Bar from the organization Human Rights Watch, who has worked with women in Afghanistan for over six years.

The Taliban, who barred girls from accessing schools when they last came to power in 1996-2001, have said they will eventually be able to return to school, but have not clarified under what circumstances.

Donors want to use help as a lever to ensure that Taliban respect the rights of girls and women.

However, the Bar He said immediate rescue was needed, adding that delays would put even more families in poverty and more girls at risk of marriage.

“You do not help women’s rights if they die of starvation,” she said.

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