Latest news with #Mahbob
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Special order given to man, 45, who married girl, 6, in sick ceremony
The Taliban has said it's horrified' that a 45-year-old man has married a six-year-old girl in a sickening ceremony in Afghanistan but says taking home a nine-year-old girl is OK It's an act so disturbing that it even left the Taliban 'horrified', a 45-year-old man has married a six-year-old girl. The man, who is already married to two other women, bought the young girl from her family before marrying her in the Marjah district of Afghanistan. Since the news emerged, the child's father and the groom have since been detained but not formally charged. The Taliban says it's 'horrified' that a man has wed a child so young and as instructed the groom to wait until the child reaches nine before he can take her home. In Afghanistan there is no clear law regarding the age a girl can legally get married - instead it's determined by Islamic law interpretation, with many deeming puberty the age when girls can wed. Child marriage is rampant in Afghanistan, with families selling their daughters into matrimony so they can afford to eat. "There are many families in our village who have given away their daughters for money,' a local activist named Mahbob told The Afghan Times. 'No one helps them. People are desperate." This bartering of girls for marriage, known as walwar, involves trading them for cash based on attributes like appearance, health, and education. However, financial desperation isn't the sole motive; some girls are traded to settle blood feuds between enemies. Amiri, 50 from Uruzgan, opened up about marrying off her 14-year-old daughter to a 27-year-old man for 300,000 Afghanis. She admitted, "I knew she was too young, but we had nothing at home. I used the money to feed the rest of my family." The practice had dwindled after the US-led invasion but has surged again since the Taliban's 2021 resurgence. Under their rule, women's freedoms have been drastically cut, requiring them to be fully covered when out in public and not speaking too loudly. They're also banned from travelling alone and must have a male relative with them. Last year, a UN report found this renewed oppression has sparked a 25 per cent rise in child and forced marriages. The International Criminal Court slammed the treatment of Afghan women as a crime against humanity and has issued arrest warrants for two top Taliban officials. The court said it has "reasonable grounds" to believe Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani are responsible for the persecution of women and girls since the Taliban's comeback. But the Taliban rebuffed the accusations, deeming them "a clear act of hostility" and an insult to Muslims around the world. Last summer, 17-year-old Saliha Sadath thought she was going on a family holiday to Turkey - but instead of heading to a villa, she says she was taken to Afghanistan to forcibly marry a 30-year-old cousin. When she dared to question the situation, Saliha claims relatives threatened to have her stoned to death. Miraculously, she was able to secretly contact a charity and a lawyer in the UK who helped her escape. She said: 'I now call myself a forced marriage survivor. I'm very lucky to be alive, I should have been executed. There was no embassy, I had nobody to help me and nowhere to go. I want to raise awareness to make sure other girls don't go through this.'
The Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Groom, 45, marries girl, 6, in horror wedding that even sickened Taliban… as harrowing pics show world of child brides
A 45-year-old groom allegedly married a six-year-old girl in Afghanistan in a wedding that left even the Taliban "horrified". The man, who is already said to have two wives, reportedly paid money in exchange for taking the girl as a bride in a sick case. 7 7 7 7 The child's father and the groom were later arrested, but neither of them has been charged. While the shocking case has sparked outrage, it is understood that the marriage still lasts. The Taliban, who are known for their brutal laws against women, reportedly opposed the marriage and asked to groom to wait until the bride turned nine. Child marriage in Afghanistan has spread more severely under the Taliban's ban on female education and employment. A local activist named Mahbob told Afghan Times: "There are many families in our village who have given away their daughters for money. "No one helps them. People are desperate." Afghanistan does not have a codified minimum marriage age, with the Taliban nullifying the previous age limit of 16 set after the 2001 Western invasion. By the beginning of the 21st century, most countries around the world enacted laws establishing the general minimum age for marriage at 18 years. However, in many of these countries, some exceptions allowed marriage before this age with the consent of the parents and/or by court decision. In some countries, a religious marriage is still recognised by the state authorities, while in others, a registered civil marriage is mandatory. Earlier this year, Iraq legalised child marriage, with girls as young as nine being able to marry after amendments to decades-old laws. The amendments to Iraq's personal status law will allow girls in their teens - or as young as nine- to be married, ignoring the country's previous minimum age of 18. The age goes as low as nine because of Ja'fari school of Islamic law followed by many Shiite religious authorities in Iraq. The Ja'fari school of thought focuses on various aspects of governance, legislation, and judiciary in the country. It heavily relies on Ijtihad, which is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law. But Intisar al-Mayali, a human rights activist and a member of the Iraqi Women's League, said: "This violates their right to life as children, and will disrupt the protection mechanisms for divorce, custody and inheritance for women." She also declared that the change "will leave disastrous effects on the rights of women and girls through the marriage of girls at an early age". Yanar Mohammed, president of the Organisation of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) said the proposals served to "terrorise Iraqi women and civil society with a legislation that strips away all the rights that Iraqi women gained in modern times." 7 7 7 FORCED MARRIAGE IN THE UK A national Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) was created in 2005, followed by the Forced Marriage Protection Order (FMPO) in 2008 – a form of injunction to prevent contact from perpetrators, stop someone being taken out of the country and prohibit marriage arrangements – and 3,343 of these were issued by the courts to women at risk up to September last year. The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 made it a criminal offence in England, Wales and Scotland to force someone to marry, including taking them overseas to do so. It carries a prison sentence of up to seven years. In February, the legal age for marriage was raised to 18 in England and Wales after a 10-year campaign by the Girls Not Brides coalition, with non-legally-binding traditional ceremonies also banned. Yet, there are still on average 12 to 15 honour-based murders a year in the UK – and experts believe that is the tip of the iceberg as some families take girls overseas where there is less scrutiny. A report in May by the Universities of Bristol and Lincoln also warned use of FMPOs can prevent forced marriage but increase the risk of honour-based violence. Cases Are almost always the culmination of a lifetime of mistreatment, known as honour-based abuse (HBA). The Home Office says there were 2,887 offences of this type in the year ending March 31, 2022 in England and Wales, and a further 1,871 HBA-related incidents. Mandatory collection of this data was only introduced in 2019 and there has been an 81% rise in cases over recent years, although this is thought to be down to greater awareness.
West Australian
5 days ago
- Politics
- West Australian
Outrage after Afghan man, 45, marries 6yo child bride as Taliban say he can't have her until she's nine
A 45-year-old Afghan man has caused global outrage after he married a six-year-old girl. The man, who already has two wives, reportedly paid the little girl's family money to take her as his bride. Hasht-e Subh Daily , an independent Afghan media outlet operating in exile, reported the sickening case had even forced the Taliban to intervene. Sources had said that while the Islamic rulers had made no official comment about the marriage in Helmand's Marjah district, the Taliban was currently preventing the girl from being transported to the man's house. The man has reportedly been told he must 'wait until the girl turns nine before bringing her home'. Child marriages have soared in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, clamping down on women's rights, including limiting their schooling, work and independence in daily life. It is especially rife in villages where poverty abounds. 'There are many families in our village who have given away their daughters for money. No one helps them. People are desperate,' said Mahbob, a community activist told The Afghan Times . Before the Taliban seized back power, Afghan civil law set the minimum age for marriage at 16 years for girls and at 18 years for boys. since they have been in power a minimum age for marriage has not been set. A UN Women report said 28.7 per cent of girls in Afghanistan under the age of 18 years were married — 9.6 per cent of those aged under 15. 'Statistical modelling shows the ban on Afghan girls education after primary school is estimated to be associated with an increase of the rate of child marriage by 25 per cent. This would put 37.5 per cent of Afghan girls at risk of child marriage,' the report read. Child marriage has been shown to lead to increased likelihood that a girl or woman will experience domestic violence, have limited access to reproductive health services, and receive only lower levels of education. Earlier this month the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders, including supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, accusing them of the persecution of women and girls. The ICC said there were reasonable grounds to believe that Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, chief justice of the Taliban, had committed the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds against girls, women and other persons non-conforming with the Taliban's policy on gender, gender identity or expression.
Perth Now
5 days ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
Outrage after Afghan man, 45, marries six-year-old
A 45-year-old Afghan man has caused global outrage after he married a six-year-old girl. The man, who already has two wives, reportedly paid the little girl's family money to take her as his bride. Hasht-e Subh Daily, an independent Afghan media outlet operating in exile, reported the sickening case had even forced the Taliban to intervene. Sources had said that while the Islamic rulers had made no official comment about the marriage in Helmand's Marjah district, the Taliban was currently preventing the girl from being transported to the man's house. The man has reportedly been told he must 'wait until the girl turns nine before bringing her home'. Child marriages have soared in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, clamping down on women's rights, including limiting their schooling, work and independence in daily life. It is especially rife in villages where poverty abounds. 'There are many families in our village who have given away their daughters for money. No one helps them. People are desperate,' said Mahbob, a community activist told The Afghan Times. Child marriages have soared in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Credit: Unknown / X Before the Taliban seized back power, Afghan civil law set the minimum age for marriage at 16 years for girls and at 18 years for boys. since they have been in power a minimum age for marriage has not been set. A UN Women report said 28.7 per cent of girls in Afghanistan under the age of 18 years were married — 9.6 per cent of those aged under 15. 'Statistical modelling shows the ban on Afghan girls education after primary school is estimated to be associated with an increase of the rate of child marriage by 25 per cent. This would put 37.5 per cent of Afghan girls at risk of child marriage,' the report read. Child marriage has been shown to lead to increased likelihood that a girl or woman will experience domestic violence, have limited access to reproductive health services, and receive only lower levels of education. Earlier this month the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders, including supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, accusing them of the persecution of women and girls. The ICC said there were reasonable grounds to believe that Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, chief justice of the Taliban, had committed the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds against girls, women and other persons non-conforming with the Taliban's policy on gender, gender identity or expression.
Daily Record
5 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Record
Middle-aged man takes six-year-old as bride leaving even Taliban 'horrified'
The man, who has already wed two other women, bought the child from her family. A 45-year-old man has married a six-year-old girl, in an act so unsettling that it even left the Taliban 'horrified'. The man, who has already wed two other women, bought the child from her family. The wedding took place in Marjah district, with both the young girl's father and the groom since detained but not formally charged, the Mirror reports. The Taliban has instructed the groom to wait until the child reaches nine before he can take her home. Child marriage is rampant in Afghanistan, often fuelled by poverty, forcing families to sell their daughters into matrimony in order to survive. A local activist named Mahbob despaired while speaking to The Afghan Times: "There are many families in our village who have given away their daughters for money. No one helps them. People are desperate." This bartering of girls for marriage, known as walwar, involves trading them for cash based on attributes like appearance, health, and education. However, financial desperation isn't the sole motive; some girls are traded to settle blood feuds between enemies. Amiri, 50 from Uruzgan, opened up about marrying off her 14-year-old daughter to a 27-year-old man for 300,000 Afghanis. She admitted, "I knew she was too young, but we had nothing at home. I used the money to feed the rest of my family." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. The practice had dwindled after the US-led invasion but has surged again since the Taliban's 2021 resurgence. Under their rule, women's freedoms have been drastically curtailed, with full-body coverings and hushed voices in public mandated. They're also barred from travelling without a male relative. A UN report last year indicated that such oppression has sparked a 25 per cent rise in child and forced marriages. The International Criminal Court has slammed the treatment of Afghan women as a crime against humanity, issuing arrest warrants for two top Taliban officials. The court cited"reasonable grounds" to believe Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani are culpable for the persecution of women and girls since the Taliban's comeback. The Taliban rebuffed the accusations, deeming them "a clear act of hostility" and an affront to Muslims globally. Afghanistan lacks a codified minimum marriage age, with the Taliban nullifying the previous age limit of 16 set after the 2001 Western invasion. Presently, a girl's marriageable age is determined by Islamic law interpretation, with the Hanafi jurisprudence deeming puberty the threshold for readiness.
