Starving Afghan families sell young daughters to survive economic hardship

Many starving and displaced Afghanistan families have resorted to ‘selling’ their young daughters in arranged marriages to get money to survive the economic hardship brought upon the country following the takeover by the Taliban.

In a special report by CNN, it was discovered that the economic crisis being faced by Afghans soon after the Taliban took over the country has become so severe that in recent months, hungry families have been giving out their adolescent daughters in marriage for money and sustenance.

The report states that a proscribed practice has reared its ugly head in many parts of the country – selling young girls into marriage to older men for money.

One such story surfaced recently when a family sold their nine-year-old daughter, Parwana Malik, to a 55-year-old man identified as Qorban, last month.

Speaking to CNN, Parwana’s father, Abdul Malik, stated that he had already sold his 12-year-old daughter a couple of months ago, and now to make ends meet, he was forced to sell off another daughter “to keep other family members alive”.

READ ALSO: Female Afghan judges on the run, after Taliban freed male rapists, murderers they convicted

On the other side, Parwana said she wanted to study and become a teacher but her family’s acute financial circumstances have closed that door for her. Talking about her “marriage”, she fears that the “old man” would beat her and force her to work in his house.

The report suggested that her buyer, Qorban, two days later, arrived at the Malik family’s home and paid 200,000 Afghanis (about $2,200) in the form of sheep, land and cash to Parwana’s father, and drove off with the girl.

Another such story also surfaced in neighbouring Ghor province where 10-year-old Magul is worried at the prospect of being married off to a 70-year-old creditor her family owes money to.

“I don’t want to leave my parents. If they make me go, I will kill myself,” the inconsolable Magul told CNN.

Just like Parwana and Magul, the career and future of several Afghan girls are shrouded in uncertainty. As the Taliban have barred women from secondary education and poverty on the rise, more and more girls are being pushed into the marriage market, ruining their otherwise bright future.

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