After President Biden pulled the last U.S. troops out of Afghanistan in August, many starving families have resorted to selling their pre-pubescent girls into marriages with older men in order to survive.
“Though marrying off children under 15 is illegal nationwide, it has been commonly practiced for years, especially in more rural parts of Afghanistan. And it has only spread since August, driven by widespread hunger and desperation,” CNN reported.
The CNN report released on Tuesday detailed multiple instances where the young girls were sold, while asserting that international aid has dried up and the country’s economy has collapsed. Mohammad Naiem Nazem, a human rights activist, told CNN, “Day by day, the numbers are increasing of families selling their children. Lack of food, lack of work, the families feel they have to do this.”
Parwana Malik, a 9-year-old girl, told CNN that she was being sold to a man who says he is 55 years old and has white eyebrows and a thick white beard; she added that she was fearful he would beat her and force her to work for him. Her father, Abdul Malik, told CNN, “We are eight family members. I have to sell to keep other family members alive.” When the buyer arrived at her home, her father wept and begged, “This is your bride. Please take care of her — you are responsible for her now, please don’t beat her.” Abdul Malik added to CNN, “The old man told me, ‘I’m paying for the girl. It’s none of your business what I’m doing with her … that’s my business.’”
“As they left, her father watching by the doorway, Parwana dug her feet into the dirt and tried to pull away — but it was no use. She was dragged to the waiting car, which slowly pulled away,” CNN reported.
10-year-old Magul was preparing to be sold to a 70-year-old man who was her father’s creditor. Her father told CNN, “I don’t know what to do. Even if I don’t give him my daughters, he will take them.” Magul wept, “I really don’t want him. If they make me go, I will kill myself. I don’t want to leave my parents.”
The father of two daughters ages 4 and 9 said he would sell them for 100,000 Afghanis (roughly $1,100) apiece.
Malik concluded, “As I can see, we don’t have a future — our future is destroyed. I will have to sell another daughter if my financial situation doesn’t improve — probably the 2-year-old.”
The Daily Wire reported on August 19:
New polling from The Daily Wire found that Americans are most concerned with the consequences for Afghan women and girls following President Joe Biden’s withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
The poll conducted on August 17 and 18 concluded that 84 percent of Americans say they are “concerned about the consequences for Afghan women and girls.” 63 percent of Americans find these consequences “extremely concerning.”
The polling results come as videos were released of young women crying for help amid the Taliban takeover of the capital city of Kabul. One video from Kabul showed a young woman begging U.S. forces to save her from the Taliban. The video comes as thousands of women and men — including thousands of Americans — are trapped inside Afghanistan.