Marrying young girls to settle family debts; An 11-year-old girl got engaged to a 40-year-old man in Afghanistan

Drought, poverty and the reduction of humanitarian aid in Afghanistan have led many families to betroth and marry young girls in order to settle debts and meet living expenses.

According to Ambassador Arjan of Euronews, drought, poverty and heavy debts in Afghanistan have forced many families to engage and marry girls at a young age. Girls who are sometimes promised to other families before reaching school age or during childhood, to settle debts or provide essential living expenses. In Badghis province, located in the northwest of Afghanistan, this situation has intensified following the destruction of agricultural products, the loss of livestock and the reduction of humanitarian aid.

Nomination of children to pay off debt

Khatereh, an 11-year-old girl in Qalanou city, is engaged to a 20-year-old man to settle her family's debt. Her mother says her daughter was healthy before the engagement, but now she is worried, cries a lot and runs away from her fiancé. Their families have lost the ability to support themselves after the drought and displacement.

In the village of Tiz Naveh, Golbobo has engaged his two daughters aged two and five. Although he is sad about this decision, he says that the family had no choice. According to him, girls may go to their husbands' houses after reaching puberty and face the risk of violence and early pregnancy.

In Badghis, about 95% of the population depends on rainfed agriculture and animal husbandry for livelihood. Severe and frequent droughts, which are exacerbated by climate change, have destroyed the income of many families. Over the past nine years, thousands of people have migrated from their villages to find work, but many still live in poverty.

11-year-old Golala is also engaged to a man in his late forties; A man to whom the girl's family owed. Galala's father says that he had to give up one of his children to save other family members. His family now subsists on bread, tea and wild plant leaves.

In the Shahrak Sabz camp in Herat, the reduction in humanitarian aid has made the situation even more difficult. Darullah married a 30-year-old man at the age of 15 and is now pregnant. He says that getting married at that age was not the right decision. His two sisters aged 9 and 11 are also engaged.

Extreme poverty has led some families to other decisions; A father sold his 10-year-old son's kidney to cover his living expenses, and another family is facing the difficulty of treating their sick child due to their inability to pay for transportation to the hospital.

Girls who marry as children face physical and psychological risks. Early pregnancy in a country with high maternal mortality is considered a serious threat to the health of girls. Also, the inability to do housework as expected by the spouse's family can expose them to violence.

In many regions, the marriage fee is paid in installments and after the full settlement, the husband's family can take the girl home; What happens in many cases with the onset of puberty. There is no law to determine the age at which girls leave their father's house.

Reduction of aid and uncertain future of girls

Mark Calder, Director of Afghanistan Advocacy at World Vision International, warns that early marriage poses serious risks to girls' health, and that as foreign aid decreases, clinics that provide services to them are also disappearing.

12-year-old Ayesha is engaged to a 20-year-old man to pay off her family's debt, despite continuing her studies. Her mother is trying to delay the payment of the remaining money so that her daughter does not have to leave home. The narrative of Afghan families shows that in the absence of economic support and sufficient social services, girls become a tool to deal with poverty and debt.