‘I Had To Sacrifice One Child’: Hunger, Poverty Push Afghan Families To Marry Off Young Daughters
‘I Had To Sacrifice One Child’: Hunger, Poverty Push Afghan Families To Marry Off Young Daughters Published By, Last Updated: July 15, 2026, 17:28 IST
‘I Had To Sacrifice One Child’: Hunger, Poverty Push Afghan Families To Marry Off Young Daughters Published By, Last Updated: July 15, 2026, 17:28 IST Medical workers interviewed for the report said that hospitals are witnessing a sharp rise in teenage pregnancies. Hunger and Taliban Restrictions Fuel Rise in Child Marriages Across Afghanistan. (Image: UNSDG/ File photo) Afghanistan is witnessing a sharp rise in child marriages and underage pregnancies as deepening poverty and Taliban restrictions force desperate families to marry off or even promise their young daughters in marriage to settle debts and survive. A report by Zan Times and The Guradian paints a grim picture of Afghanistan where deepening poverty, shrinking humanitarian aid and Taliban restrictions on girls have fuelled a fresh surge in child marriages and underage pregnancies. The report documents cases of girls being married as teenagers and even pledged for future marriage as infants, with families saying they had no choice but to exchange their daughters for money or debt relief. One such case is that of Sima (name changed), who said she was forced to marry her cousin at the age of 13 after being pressured by her father. At just 18 years old, Sima has already lived a lifetime that few adults could imagine. She has given birth four times in five years. One child died before turning one. Another is a newborn. Instead of attending school, her days are spent fetching water, tending cattle, baking bread and caring for children while battling constant illness, the report added. While sharing her ordeal with the news outlet, Sima said that she had completed sixth grade when the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
Within months, her father allegedly pressured her into marrying her cousin. “After the Taliban entered the country, I had just finished the sixth grade and was supposed to start the seventh. But two months later, my father pressured me immensely to marry my cousin. After being beaten by my father several times, I was forced to accept," she expressed her ordeal. Today, she said that the physical toll of repeated pregnancies is impossible to ignore. “I always have a headache. My kidneys ache. I feel like a 70-year-old person," she told the publication. Medical workers interviewed for the report said that hospitals are witnessing a sharp rise in teenage pregnancies. At one public hospital in northern Afghanistan alone, 42 girls under 18 gave birth during the first five months of this year. Several suffered serious complications, including ectopic pregnancies and emergency caesarean deliveries, while two young mothers died, the report added. Doctors said that pregnancies at such a young age significantly increase the risk of severe bleeding, miscarriage, obstructed labour and maternal death, while babies are more likely to be born prematurely or underweight. As well as Sima’s family, the Guardian and Zan Times spoke to three other families with daughters under nine who were traded in marriage to settle debts. The youngest was two months old when she was promised as a bride, with all the families pledging to give the girls to their future husbands when they reached between seven and nine years old. Shabnam (name changed), a midwife, told the outlet that since the new government came to power, the number of child mothers has increased dramatically.
The BriefWire