The Taliban have announced that a six-year-old girl in Garmser district of Helmand province was married to a 60-year-old man in exchange for 200,000 Pakistani rupees.
The Taliban’s media office in Helmand said in a statement on Sunday, August 30, that the girl’s father married her off to the elderly man for the amount of money with his consent.
According to the Taliban, the girl’s father was addicted to drugs and, due to the family’s financial difficulties, married his daughter off in exchange for money.
Local sources had previously reported that an 80-year-old man in Nad Ali district of Helmand province had married an eight-year-old girl.
These incidents come as underage marriages are increasing in Afghanistan, with children, particularly girls, facing the risk of forced marriage.
Poverty and economic hardship are also considered major factors behind the situation. Reports indicate that some families marry off their daughters in exchange for money or sell them to meet their financial needs.
