Latest news with #TheAfghanTimes
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Special order given to man, 45, who married girl, 6, in sick ceremony
The Taliban has said it's horrified' that a 45-year-old man has married a six-year-old girl in a sickening ceremony in Afghanistan but says taking home a nine-year-old girl is OK It's an act so disturbing that it even left the Taliban 'horrified', a 45-year-old man has married a six-year-old girl. The man, who is already married to two other women, bought the young girl from her family before marrying her in the Marjah district of Afghanistan. Since the news emerged, the child's father and the groom have since been detained but not formally charged. The Taliban says it's 'horrified' that a man has wed a child so young and as instructed the groom to wait until the child reaches nine before he can take her home. In Afghanistan there is no clear law regarding the age a girl can legally get married - instead it's determined by Islamic law interpretation, with many deeming puberty the age when girls can wed. Child marriage is rampant in Afghanistan, with families selling their daughters into matrimony so they can afford to eat. "There are many families in our village who have given away their daughters for money,' a local activist named Mahbob told The Afghan Times. 'No one helps them. People are desperate." This bartering of girls for marriage, known as walwar, involves trading them for cash based on attributes like appearance, health, and education. However, financial desperation isn't the sole motive; some girls are traded to settle blood feuds between enemies. Amiri, 50 from Uruzgan, opened up about marrying off her 14-year-old daughter to a 27-year-old man for 300,000 Afghanis. She admitted, "I knew she was too young, but we had nothing at home. I used the money to feed the rest of my family." The practice had dwindled after the US-led invasion but has surged again since the Taliban's 2021 resurgence. Under their rule, women's freedoms have been drastically cut, requiring them to be fully covered when out in public and not speaking too loudly. They're also banned from travelling alone and must have a male relative with them. Last year, a UN report found this renewed oppression has sparked a 25 per cent rise in child and forced marriages. The International Criminal Court slammed the treatment of Afghan women as a crime against humanity and has issued arrest warrants for two top Taliban officials. The court said it has "reasonable grounds" to believe Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani are responsible for the persecution of women and girls since the Taliban's comeback. But the Taliban rebuffed the accusations, deeming them "a clear act of hostility" and an insult to Muslims around the world. Last summer, 17-year-old Saliha Sadath thought she was going on a family holiday to Turkey - but instead of heading to a villa, she says she was taken to Afghanistan to forcibly marry a 30-year-old cousin. When she dared to question the situation, Saliha claims relatives threatened to have her stoned to death. Miraculously, she was able to secretly contact a charity and a lawyer in the UK who helped her escape. She said: 'I now call myself a forced marriage survivor. I'm very lucky to be alive, I should have been executed. There was no embassy, I had nobody to help me and nowhere to go. I want to raise awareness to make sure other girls don't go through this.'
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Taliban's grim ultimatum to man, 45, who married six-year-old girl
A 45-year-old man who married a six-year-old girl shocked the Taliban with his abhorrent wedding ceremony, with the militant extremists handing down a grim order The world has been left sickened by reports that a 45-year-old man has married a six-year-old girl, in an act so abhorrent, even the Taliban have condemned it. It's understood that the wedding took place in the Marjah district of Afghanistan, at a time of great concern over the rise of child marriages in the country. Shockingly, there is no longer a codified minimum marriage age in Afghanistan, with Taliban forces rolling back the age limit of 16 previously established after the 2001 Western invasion. However, this recent child marriage has proven abhorrent even to those who have played an active role in stripping away the rights of Afghan women and girls. As reported by US-based Afghan outlet the Taliban has taken some action against this man, who reportedly already has two wives. They've issued a grim order - the man has to wait until the child turns nine before he can take her home. Under Taliban rule, a girl's 'marriageable age' is decided by Islamic law interpretation, with the Hanafi jurisprudence determining puberty to be the "threshold for readiness". The girl's own choice does not come into it. Devastatingly, this is an issue which is all too prevalent in a country where women have virtually been removed from public life, while struggling families are often forced to sell their own daughters to keep food on the table. In a recent interview with The Afghan Times, an activist who lives in a rural village shared: "There are many families in our village who have given away their daughters for money. No one helps them. People are desperate." As detailed in the publication's report, this practice, which has surged since the Taliban retook power in 2021, is known as 'walwar' and involves girls being exchanged for cash based on factors such as looks, health and education level. In this particular instance, the groom paid the child's family money in exchange for her. He and the girl's father were later arrested, but not charged. According to statistics given by the organisation Girls Not Brides, 28.7 per cent of Afghan girls marry before the age of 18, while 9.6 per cent marry before they turn 15. As per a United Nations (UN) report published last year, systematic oppression has sparked an alarming 25 per cent rise in child and forced marriages. This comes at a time when women in Afghanistan are forbidden from speaking in public or even showing their faces outside of the family home. Forced to wear full-body coverings, these women are banned from places where they may once have met with friends and opened up about any difficulties, including gyms, female-only public baths, and even beauty salons. As for the women of the future, girls have been forbidden from pursuing secondary education, cutting off their chances of economic independence, destroying their potential, and putting them at risk of early forced marriages. In a statement released in March this year, as a new school year began in Afghanistan, UNICEF said: "As a new school year begins in Afghanistan, it marks three years since the start of the ban on girls' secondary education. This decision continues to harm the future of millions of Afghan girls. If this ban persists until 2030, over four million girls will have been deprived of their right to education beyond primary school. 'The consequences for these girls - and for Afghanistan - are catastrophic. The ban negatively impacts the health system, the economy, and the future of the nation. With fewer girls receiving an education, girls face a higher risk of child marriage, with negative repercussions on their well-being and health. In addition, the country will experience a shortage of qualified female health workers. This will endanger lives. "With fewer female doctors and midwives, girls and women will not receive the medical treatment and support they need. We are estimating an additional 1,600 maternal deaths and over 3,500 infant deaths. These are not just numbers; they represent lives lost and families shattered. 'For over three years, the rights of girls in Afghanistan have been violated. All girls must be allowed to return to school now. If these capable, bright young girls continue to be denied an education, then the repercussions will last for generations. Afghanistan cannot leave half of its population behind."
West Australian
6 days ago
- Politics
- West Australian
Outrage after Afghan man, 45, marries 6yo child bride as Taliban say he can't have her until she's nine
A 45-year-old Afghan man has caused global outrage after he married a six-year-old girl. The man, who already has two wives, reportedly paid the little girl's family money to take her as his bride. Hasht-e Subh Daily , an independent Afghan media outlet operating in exile, reported the sickening case had even forced the Taliban to intervene. Sources had said that while the Islamic rulers had made no official comment about the marriage in Helmand's Marjah district, the Taliban was currently preventing the girl from being transported to the man's house. The man has reportedly been told he must 'wait until the girl turns nine before bringing her home'. Child marriages have soared in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, clamping down on women's rights, including limiting their schooling, work and independence in daily life. It is especially rife in villages where poverty abounds. 'There are many families in our village who have given away their daughters for money. No one helps them. People are desperate,' said Mahbob, a community activist told The Afghan Times . Before the Taliban seized back power, Afghan civil law set the minimum age for marriage at 16 years for girls and at 18 years for boys. since they have been in power a minimum age for marriage has not been set. A UN Women report said 28.7 per cent of girls in Afghanistan under the age of 18 years were married — 9.6 per cent of those aged under 15. 'Statistical modelling shows the ban on Afghan girls education after primary school is estimated to be associated with an increase of the rate of child marriage by 25 per cent. This would put 37.5 per cent of Afghan girls at risk of child marriage,' the report read. Child marriage has been shown to lead to increased likelihood that a girl or woman will experience domestic violence, have limited access to reproductive health services, and receive only lower levels of education. Earlier this month the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders, including supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, accusing them of the persecution of women and girls. The ICC said there were reasonable grounds to believe that Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, chief justice of the Taliban, had committed the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds against girls, women and other persons non-conforming with the Taliban's policy on gender, gender identity or expression.
Perth Now
6 days ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
Outrage after Afghan man, 45, marries six-year-old
A 45-year-old Afghan man has caused global outrage after he married a six-year-old girl. The man, who already has two wives, reportedly paid the little girl's family money to take her as his bride. Hasht-e Subh Daily, an independent Afghan media outlet operating in exile, reported the sickening case had even forced the Taliban to intervene. Sources had said that while the Islamic rulers had made no official comment about the marriage in Helmand's Marjah district, the Taliban was currently preventing the girl from being transported to the man's house. The man has reportedly been told he must 'wait until the girl turns nine before bringing her home'. Child marriages have soared in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, clamping down on women's rights, including limiting their schooling, work and independence in daily life. It is especially rife in villages where poverty abounds. 'There are many families in our village who have given away their daughters for money. No one helps them. People are desperate,' said Mahbob, a community activist told The Afghan Times. Child marriages have soared in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Credit: Unknown / X Before the Taliban seized back power, Afghan civil law set the minimum age for marriage at 16 years for girls and at 18 years for boys. since they have been in power a minimum age for marriage has not been set. A UN Women report said 28.7 per cent of girls in Afghanistan under the age of 18 years were married — 9.6 per cent of those aged under 15. 'Statistical modelling shows the ban on Afghan girls education after primary school is estimated to be associated with an increase of the rate of child marriage by 25 per cent. This would put 37.5 per cent of Afghan girls at risk of child marriage,' the report read. Child marriage has been shown to lead to increased likelihood that a girl or woman will experience domestic violence, have limited access to reproductive health services, and receive only lower levels of education. Earlier this month the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders, including supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, accusing them of the persecution of women and girls. The ICC said there were reasonable grounds to believe that Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, chief justice of the Taliban, had committed the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds against girls, women and other persons non-conforming with the Taliban's policy on gender, gender identity or expression.
Mint
6 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
Afghan man, 45, marries 6-year-old girl; Taliban intervenes, says she ‘can join husband when she turns 9'
A 45-year-old man has married a six-year-old girl in Afghanistan's Helmand province, sparking outrage and renewed concerns over child marriage under Taliban rule. US-based Afghan outlet reported that Taliban officials were 'horrified' after seeing images of the ceremony. They stopped the man from taking the girl home, saying instead she could go to her husband's house when she turns nine. Despite the backlash, the marriage remains valid. According to the Hasht-e Subh Daily, the man, who already has two wives, paid the girl's family money for her. The wedding took place in the Marjah district. Following this, the girl's father and the groom were arrested, but neither has been formally charged. Child marriage has worsened in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Restrictions on women's education and work have fuelled early and forced marriages, with families facing growing financial hardship. Last year, UN Women said these bans led to a 25 per cent rise in child marriages and a 45 per cent increase in childbearing across the country. UNICEF lists Afghanistan among the nations with the highest number of child brides globally. The International Criminal Court (ICC) recently issued arrest warrants for two top Taliban leaders, accusing them of crimes against humanity over their treatment of women and girls. The court said there were 'reasonable grounds' to believe that Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani were responsible for systematic persecution. In response, the Taliban rejected the ICC's authority, calling the move 'a clear act of hostility' and 'an insult to the beliefs of Muslims around the world'. Rights groups warn that child marriage exposes girls to lifelong harm, including early pregnancies, sexual abuse, depression and social isolation. In many cases, girls have no say in whom or when they marry. Some are promised to male cousins at birth through a practice called 'naming', treating them as family property. In rural areas, girls are also traded for walwar – a bride price paid by the groom's family based on the girl's appearance, health or education. Mahbob, a community activist, told The Afghan Times, 'There are many families in our village who have given away their daughters for money. No one helps them. People are desperate.' Another tradition, known as baad, sees girls exchanged to settle disputes between families. A girl given away becomes the namus (honour) of her husband's family. If widowed, she may be forcibly married to another male relative. Amiri, a 50-year-old woman from Uruzgan, told The Afghan Times that she married off her 14-year-old daughter to a 27-year-old man for 300,000 Afghanis. 'I knew she was too young,' she said. 'But we had nothing at home. I used the money to feed the rest of my family.' Afghanistan currently has no fixed legal minimum age for marriage. The former civil code, which set the age at 16 for girls, has not been reinstated under the Taliban. Instead, marriage is guided by interpretations of Islamic law. In the Hanafi school of thought, a girl can be married once she reaches puberty. The Taliban's crackdown on women and girls extends far beyond marriage. Girls are banned from secondary schools, universities, parks, gyms and public baths. Women cannot work in most jobs, travel without a male guardian, or show their faces in public. Last year, the Taliban defended these rules, claiming a woman 'loses her value' if her face is seen by men.
