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- By Shivangi Sharma
- Thu, 10 Jul 2025 12:06 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
The incident took place in late June 2025 in the Marjah district. According to local media outlet Hasht-e Subh Daily, the man paid the child’s father a bride price, a transaction rooted in the traditional Afghan practice known as walwar, in which the girl's value is determined by her appearance, perceived education level, and family background.
Following intense backlash on social media and from local activists, both the groom and the child’s father were briefly detained. They were not charged with any crime. According to a report by Hasht-e Subh Daily, the child is currently reported to be living with her parents, and the marriage remains technically valid under the Taliban’s legal framework.
What Taliban Said
Rather than declare the marriage illegal, Taliban officials ruled that the man could not cohabitate with the girl until she reaches the age of nine, an age at which some ultra-conservative interpretations of Islamic law consider a girl capable of marriage. Under Taliban rule, civil codes that once set the minimum age for marriage at 16 for girls and 18 for boys have been rendered obsolete unless they align with the Taliban’s interpretation of Sharia.
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Afghanistan faces one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world, with alarming statistics reported by UNICEF, 57 per cent of Afghan girls are married before the age of 19, and 21 per cent are married before the age of 15.
The crisis stems from a combination of extreme poverty, where young girls are viewed as financial burdens and are married off for dowries, and widespread lack of education, particularly in rural areas where awareness about the consequences of child marriage remains low.
The situation has further deteriorated since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, leading to a collapse of civil institutions and legal protections. With no minimum legal age for marriage currently enforced, and civil laws replaced by varying interpretations of Sharia, Afghan girls are left vulnerable and largely defenseless against a deeply entrenched and harmful tradition.