KABUL: Afghan girls as young as eight are being sold for future marriage as desperate families struggle to survive under worsening poverty, school bans and Taliban restrictions, The Guardian reported.
The report, produced with Zan Times, said Afghanistan is seeing a resurgence in underage brides and child mothers, with some families trading daughters to settle debts or buy food.
One 18-year-old woman in Badghis province told the newspaper she was forced to marry at 13 after being beaten by her father. She has already given birth four times, with one child dying of pneumonia.
Workers at a public hospital in northern Afghanistan said 42 underage girls gave birth in the first five months of this year. Six were in their second pregnancy, five had ectopic pregnancies and 18 required caesarean sections. Two young mothers died, though their babies survived.
A midwife told The Guardian that child motherhood had increased sharply since the Taliban returned to power, saying both literate and illiterate families were now marrying off daughters at young ages.
The report said more than 2.2 million Afghan girls have been barred from education beyond the sixth grade since the Taliban takeover. Many have been pushed into forced marriage and early motherhood.
Three families in western Afghanistan said daughters under 10 had been promised for future marriage to settle debts. One grandmother said her one-year-old granddaughter had been sold and would be taken when she turns eight.
Another family pledged a baby girl at two months old, promising to hand her over at age seven.
The Guardian said Afghanistan’s deepening humanitarian crisis, unemployment and restrictions on women’s education and work have made girls increasingly vulnerable.
