Afghanistan: 6-year-old girl married to 45-year-old man, Taliban asks groom to wait till bride turns 9

In what may be called an atrocious and bizarre incident in Afghanistan, a 6-year-old girl was forcibly married to a 45-year-old man who already had two wives. The girl's father was in a dire financial strait and took money for agreeing to marry off the child to the man almost eight times her senior in age. In what may be called a more bizarre development, the ruling Taliban intervened and asked the 45-year-old groom to wait till the bride turns 9. No legal action was taken against him. 

What did Taliban say?

According to US-based Afghan news outlet Amu.tv, the Taliban, reportedly "horrified" by the situation, intervened to prevent the man from taking the child to his home, and it said that she could be sent to her husband's household at the age of nine. The horrible incident took place in the Marjah district of the South Asian country. Hasht-e Subh Daily has reported that the girl's father and the 45-year-old groom were arrested, but no formal case has been filed against them. The marriage was arranged according to the customary practice of "walwar", where the bride price is determined based on the girl's physical appearance, education, and perceived value.

Child marriage incidents increase

Driven by poverty, joblessness and stringent restrictions on women since the return of the Taliban in 2021, the incidents of child marriage have increased considerably in Afghanistan. Earlier, according to the previous civil code, the minimum age for girls' marriage was fixed at 16. However, there is no minimum age limit for a girl's marriage now. 

What is minimum age for marriage?

According to a report by UN Women, Afghanistan has registered a 25% surge in child marriages and a 45% increase in early childbearing due to a ban on girls' education. The girls have become more vulnerable in an already precarious socio-economic landscape after the Taliban returned to rule the country. UNICEF has said in its report that 57% of girls in Afghanistan are married before they turn 19. The most common ages for girls to get married are 15 and 16 in this South Asian country. This dismal situation is due to many factors like gender dynamics, family structure, cultural, political, and economic perceptions and ideologies.