A 45-year old man in Afghanistan got married to a six-year old, but when the Taliban administration found out, they instructed him to wait till the girl turns nine before bringing her home, according to local media reports.
In an incident that took place in the country’s Marjah district, the man took a six year old girl as his bride in exchange for money from her father, reported Amu.tv.
According to the report, the man is already married to two women and this was his third marriage. The union was formalized on Friday with the girl expected to come to the man’s house afterwards. But when the Taliban officials heard of the matter, they intervened and temporarily stopped the marriage stating that the man needs to wait till the girl turns nine.
According to a report by Hasht-e Subh Daily, the girl is now staying at her parents house. Although, the man was briefly detained, he was not prosecuted by the Taliban administration. There have been no reports of charges being filed against the man and Taliban authorities have also not released any statement.
Increasing child marriages since Taliban's rule
This incident has led to outrage among human rights groups, highlighting the issue of child marriages in Afghanistan. Marriages of this kind are practiced under ‘walwar’ where money is given in exchange for a bride based on her appearance and value in the community.
{{/usCountry}}This incident has led to outrage among human rights groups, highlighting the issue of child marriages in Afghanistan. Marriages of this kind are practiced under ‘walwar’ where money is given in exchange for a bride based on her appearance and value in the community.
{{/usCountry}}Child marriages in Afghanistan have worsened since the Taliban came to power in 2021. According to a report by UN Women, the rate of child marriage among Afghan girls are increasing by 25 per cent, with increasing rate of early childbearing among Afghan adolescent girls.
Also read: ICC seeks arrest of Taliban leaders over persecution of women
The International Criminal Court on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for Taliban's supreme leader and the head of Afghanistan's Supreme Court, based on charges of persecuting women and girls since coming to power, reported AP. In a statement, the court said that Taliban has “severely deprived” women of the rights to education, expression, privacy, movement or family life through various decrees.