RASC News Agency: Local sources from Badghis province report that the Taliban in the province have warned residents to marry off their daughters in exchange for livestock. Sources told RASC News Agency today, Saturday, April 27, that the Taliban instructed several families to marry off their daughters in exchange for livestock to alleviate the economic challenges of the prospective groom’s family.
The source added that the girls forced into these marriages are mostly between the ages of 10 and 16 and are often married off against their will to much older men, under coercion from local authorities and their families. The source noted that the Taliban understand that Badghis province in western Afghanistan is a mountainous region where most people rely on livestock and agriculture.
According to the source, the Taliban have primarily targeted residents in the districts of Jund, Bala Murghab, and Ab Kamari with warnings to comply with these orders. Meanwhile, other sources in western Afghanistan told RASC News Agency that the Taliban have granted Afghanistani boys and men more authority to dictate family decisions than girls and women. This source noted that compared to the previous government, the status of women under Taliban rule has diminished significantly, having a negative impact on Afghanistani girls and women.
The source added that the Taliban are actively working to undermine women’s agency in Afghanistan and darken the current climate. Ghafur, a resident of Badghis province, told RASC News Agency that the practice of marrying off underage girls has long been part of Afghanistani and Pashtun traditions, which the Taliban are now emphasizing. He explained that in the western provinces of Afghanistan, particularly Badghis, 90% of the population’s livelihood depends on agriculture and livestock, leading to most marriages being arranged in exchange for livestock.
He added that the Taliban, who hold power in the country, must work with community elders to devise a proper plan to help Afghanistani girls and women out of these issues. On the other hand, some women’s rights activists in Afghanistan say that women have borne the brunt of mental and emotional trauma more than any other group in the country. Sara Amiri, a women’s rights activist in Afghanistan, told RASC News Agency that one of the pressures and harms the Taliban have inflicted on Afghanistani girls and women is the closure of schools and universities.
She added that the Taliban regard women as insignificant and worthless, which has intensified the anger of Afghanistani girls and women towards the Taliban. Taliban officials in Badghis province have chosen to remain silent on this issue. Some reports from western Afghanistan suggest that infant girls have been married off in exchange for livestock.
