12.2007 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

According to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), between 60 and 80 percent of all marriages are forced marriages; high degree of acceptance of child and forced marriages within society ("UNHCR's Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Afghan Asylum-Seekers") [ID 22666]

"The practice of child marriages and threat of forced marriages is at the root of most violence that takes place in the household. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) estimates that between 60 and 80 percent of all marriages in Afghanistan are forced marriages and approximately 57 percent of girls are married before the age of 16. Afghan culture is characterized by a strong patriarchal system in which the family is central. The social system is extremely gender stratified. The marriages of both men and women are almost always arranged by their families. Such unions commonly take place between relatives, and within communities and clans. Neither men nor women are expected to resist the will of their family regarding their marriage partners. Even highly educated women who work for international NGOs report that they are unable to affect their family’s choice of husband or timing of marriage. Exchange marriages are commonly used for payments of debts or resolution of dispute. This practice may involve giving a daughter in marriage in exchange for another young girl from the bridegroom’s family to marry the bride’s brother or sometimes her father. As such, girls and women become commodities, being sold for money, obligation or honor. Additionally, it is common practice in Afghanistan for a widow to marry a family member of the late husband, even against her expressed will. Where a widow does not remarry, her husband’s family takes on the decision-making role in relation to her family. Although often deemed a burden, the the late husband’s family maintains a strong sense of ‘ownership’ of the widow’s sons. Women remain deprived of basic civil rights, including in cases of divorce, custody and with regard to inheritance rights."

Document(s): Open document

12.2007 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Practice of forced and early marriage constitutes a serious form of violence against women; relevant laws are not enforced and perpetrators are not punished ("UNHCR's Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Afghan Asylum-Seekers") [ID 22667]

"Under Afghan law, the legal minimum age for marriage is 15 years old. In addition to being the cause of subsequent physical and psychological violence, the practice of forced and early marriage in itself constitutes a serious form of violence against women. Child marriages prevent girls from getting an education or any opportunity for independent work. It subjects them to pregnancy and childbirth before they have reached physical maturity, a circumstance that often produces serious physical trauma, psychological harm, and sometimes lifelong physical and/or emotional disabilities. Relevant laws are not enforced, nor perpetrators punished. Since only five percent of marriages are registered, these unlawful acts remain outside the formal and legal domains."

Document(s): Open document

12.2007 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

16 percent of Afghan girls are married before the age of 15 and 52 percent are married before the age 18 ("UNHCR's Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Afghan Asylum-Seekers") [ID 22746]

"Early pregnancy resulting from under-age marriages increases the risk of death during childbirth. It is estimated that 16 percent of Afghan girls are married before the age of 15, and 52 percent are married before their eighteenth birthday. Less than 40 percent of Afghan children receive life-saving vaccinations."

Document(s): Open document

16.03.2007 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Supreme Court approved new marriage contract which is expected to help stop child and forced marriages ("New contract to curb child marriages") [ID 19075]

Document(s): Open document

26.02.2007 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Forced marriages and child marriages still continue and lead some women to escape their fate by choosing self-immolation ("Child forced marriages still a common tradition") [ID 18892]

Document(s): Open document

23.02.2007 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Despite some progress in women’s rights, day-to-day life of women has changed little; forced marriages and child marriages still continue and lead some women to choose self-immolation ("Child forced marriages still a common tradition") [ID 19350]

Document(s): Open document

20.02.2007 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Elderly men often take young women as their brides; their families don’t always approve ("A Family Scandal") [ID 18856]

Document(s): Open document

07.01.2007 - Source: Guardian

Villagers whose crops have failed give their young daughters in marriage to raise money for food ("Starving Afghans sell girls of eight as brides"), Autor: The Observer [ID 18390]

Document(s): Open document

30.09.2005 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Forced marriages and desperate circumstances lead many young women to burn themselves to death; legal age of marriage of 16 years is frequently ignored ("Self-Immolation Seen as Only Escape") [#37233],  [ID 1279]

Document(s): Open document

18.08.2005 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

UN says half of Afghan marriages involve underage girls ("UN Says Half Of Afghan Marriages Involve Underage Girls") [#35679],  [ID 1280]

Document(s): Open document

13.07.2005 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Nearly 60 percent of marriages in Afghanistan involve girls below legal age of 16; such marriages increase maternal mortality rate and deny young women education or any kind of independent life ("Child marriage still widespread") [#33966],  [ID 1281]

Document(s): Open document

02.2005 - Source: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit

Remarriage of widows ("Who owns the farm? Rural Women’s Access to Land and Livestock (Author: Jo Grace)") [#29311],  [ID 1282]

"Young widows will often remarry if they are too poor to support themselves and their children or if they simply choose to remarry. The relation of the person they marry varies from place to place. For example, in the two Pashtun villages in Kabul, women usually marry a brother of their husband. In contrast, in Bamyan and Badakhshan, widows normally do not marry a brother of their husband, meaning that if they remarry they have to leave their children behind with their deceased husband’s family.
Widows who have not inherited land from their parents or are from landless families find it extremely difficult to generate sufficient income to support a family by themselves and may therefore have to remarry. Curiously, most of the widows the team met who had remained widows (as opposed to remarrying) had inherited land from their husbands and so had been able to keep their children with them, though many still struggle greatly. Widows without children were made to believe that they could not inherit a share of their husband’s property despite the legal provisions for widows without children. (p. 23)"

Document(s): Open document

31.01.2005 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

The practice of levirate marriages for widows continues ("Tradition Traps Widows") [#28639],  [ID 1283]

"[...] These widows are caught between Afghan culture and Islamic law. According to Afghan tradition, they can only marry close relatives of the deceased husband. But six years ago, during the Taleban's ultra-conservative reign, its leader Mullah Omar issued a decree allowing widows to marry whomever they wished.
Since the fall of the Taleban, a little over three years ago, the temporary freedom of choice accorded them has eroded, leaving a woman who has lost her husband very little choice about her future. If she is allowed to marry again, it will be to her brother-in-law or another close relative in her husband's family. [...]
The government is attempting to help. Fauzia Amini told IWPR, "The custom of forcing a widow to marry her brother-in-law or another close relative of her dead husband is very bad; we are trying to break the hold these traditions have on the population."
The ministry is working with mullahs, or religious leaders, she said, to try and get more freedom of choice for women whose husbands have died.
Islam does not dictate that woman must marry within her husband's family, say religious scholars. Shaikh Zada, a mullah from Kabul province, said that those who refuse freedom of choice for widows are foolish, and do not know the dictates of their religion.[...]
But tradition dies hard in Afghanistan.
Hanifa, 27, cannot read or write. She has been a widow for the past 12 years. She told IWPR, "When Mullah Omar issued his decree, I married someone who was not a relative of my husband. Three years ago, when the Taleban were defeated, my brother-in-law took my four children away from me."
Now Hanifa has two children with her new husband. But, she said, "My former brother-in-law has sent me a letter, saying that now there are no Taleban, I will not let you live." She, too, has come to the ministry of women's affairs for help.
But the ministry can only do so much and many observers agree that traditions here are hard to break.[...]"

Document(s): Open document

17.11.2004 - Source: Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers

Child soldiers global report 2004 - early marriages ("Child soldiers global report 2004") [#27116],  [ID 1284]

"There were some reports of girls performing domestic work under the command structure of armed groups and being forced into early marriages with commanders."

Document(s): Open document

11.2004 - Source: Danish Immigration Service

Forced marriages ("The political conditions, the security and human rights situation in Afghanistan; Report on fact-finding mission to Kabul, Afghanistan 20 March – 2 April 2004") [#27424],  [ID 1285]

"According to the EU Special Representative, it is customary practice that young women are married against their will to older men, which contributes to a high incidence of suicide among young women.
An international NGO stated that marriages between minors are of common occurrence. Marriages between children of 7 years up to 15-17 years of age occur quite frequently. It is similarly common that 13 year-old girls already have children.
The Vice Minister for Women underlined that forced marriages are widespread. It is also common that a 12-year-old girl has to marry a 50-year-old man. A woman runs the risk of being murdered by her family, if she does not marry the person whom the family has chosen. The source said that it is not in reality possible for a young girl to seek support from the authorities or the police against a marriage her parents have decided upon.
The President of the Supreme Court stated that according to Islamic law, it is not permitted to force women to marry against their will. The source stated that a woman could always make a complaint to the courts in such a situation."

Document(s): Open document

14.09.2004 - Source: Guardian

Afghan women commiting suicides as a way to escape from forced marriages ("Death by fire: the agonising way out for trapped Afghan women") [#25540],  [ID 1272]

Document(s): Open document

05.2004 - Source: Medica Mondiale

Study on child marriage in Afghanistan ("Study on child marriage in Afghanistan") [#30686],  [ID 1286]

Document(s): Open document
Pressemitteilung in deutscher Sprache

01.04.2004 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Forced marriage in Balkh province leads to death of bride; her husband under arrest; armed men in the North said to use their connections with Jamiat or Jumbesh to force marriages ("Forced Marriage Leads to Tragedy") [#20943],  [ID 1287]

"[...] "I think 80 per cent of girls are victims of forced marriages," said Malalai Usmany, head of the Union for the Defence of Women's Rights, a private advocacy group in Balkh province. Qazi Sayed Mohamad, acting head of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission's office in Mazar-e-Sharif, said there are several reasons why women become the victims of forced marriages. "Sometimes this pressure is put on the girl from her family, but sometimes women are victims of tribal conflicts," he said. When a man kills another man in Afghanistan, tribal elders may order the killer to give a woman from his family to the victim's family as compensation for the death, and the woman will likely be forced to marry a brother, son, nephew or other relative of the victim, Sayed Mohammad said. And sometimes, families force their daughters to marry in order to bind two families closer together.
Sultana's troubles began last summer, when her fiancé Saif Uddin died of cancer. His family told Sultana that she would have to marry one of his brothers. Both Sultana's family and Saif Uddin's are ethnic Pashtuns, who sanction such practices. By the autumn it had become clear that 45-year-old Zia Uddin, who was already married, wanted to wed Sultana. Her family objected, Sultana's mother, Watan Bibi, said, allegedly because the man's existing wife had threatened violence if the younger woman joined the household. Sultana's father, Noor Mohammad, refused to allow the marriage to go ahead. But in October, he was kidnapped. The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission is investigating.
Meanwhile, Sultana went to the Balkh police to report that Zia Uddin intended to force her to marry him. But one local police officer, who declined to let his name be used, admitted that her plea was ignored because "there was no one to hear her and protect her". According to Sultana's relatives, soldiers loyal to a local commander came and took the girl to the village of Qalacha, where she was married to Zia Uddin. Sultana's father was released from captivity one day later. Noor Mohammad told family members that he had been held in the basement of a military compound belonging to Jamiat-e-Islami, one of the two main armed factions in the north. Sultana's family said they saw their daughter only once more, around six weeks after the wedding, and claim that she described her life as one of hardship and abuse. "Her husband was hitting her, as did his first wife and his son," Sultana's mother Watan Bibi told IWPR. According to police, Zia Uddin confessed to killing Sultana not long after her body was discovered. He is currently being held in prison while the investigation continues. The police say that the case has been complicated by allegations that Zia Uddin used his connections to the Jamiat-e-Islami party to force the marriage. Women's rights activists say that in northern Afghanistan, where Jamiat-e-Islami and its rival faction, Junbesh-e-Milli, wield more power than the central government, armed men often play a role in pressuring women and their families to go along with unwanted marriages. "Armed men are intervening in every sector of human life and breaking the laws. Forced marriage is part of these interventions," said Maria Raheen, a lecturer at Balkh University's journalism department and director of a local women's group. General Atta Mohammad, commander of the seventh military corps controlled by Jamiat-e-Islami, has promised to cooperate with the investigation, Sayed Mohamad said."

Document(s): Open document

24.01.2004 - Source: Danesch, Mostafa

Risk for 18-year-old woman to become victim of blood feud (or honour killing) for "abuses" commmited by her mother; risk of forced marriage ("Stellungnahme vom 24.1.2004 an VG Hamburg - 6 VG A 1786/2001") [#20243],  [ID 1288]

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06.10.2003 - Source: UN General Assembly

Forcing young girls to marry is widespread; in some cases girls are sold ("Report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on violence against women, its causes ad consequences, on the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan (A/58/421)") [#17532],  [ID 1289]

"12. Underage and forced marriage is a crime under Afghan national law. However, the practice of forcing young girls to marry is widespread, and in some cases girls are sold to men who are much older than themselves. These acts are generally not treated as criminal offences owing to attitudes on the part of judicial personnel and the wider society. This situation encompasses a double-edged encroachment on women’s human rights. On the one hand, it denies women the right to exercise control over their own lives and, on the other hand, it subjects them to a potentially abusive and life-threatening environment."

Document(s): Open document

06.10.2003 - Source: UN General Assembly

Families prefer to marry their daughters off at increasingly early ages, in some cases to benefit from the financial gains of the traditional practice of bride price ("Report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on violence against women, its causes ad consequences, on the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan (A/58/421)") [#17532],  [ID 1290]

"8. […] In addition, drought, war and worsened economic conditions also have a negative impact on girls’ education as families prefer to marry their daughters off at increasingly early ages, in some cases to benefit from the financial gains of the traditional practice of bride price. This practice not only denies girls the opportunity of developing their human capabilities, but also subjects them to early and frequent pregnancies, thus placing them at increased risk of complications associated with pregnancy and childbirth."

Document(s): Open document

06.10.2003 - Source: Guardian

Widespread evidence of large numbers of under-age brides ("West still failing to protect Afghan women") [#16517],  [ID 1291]

"The legal age for marriage is 18 for Afghan men, 16 for women. There is, however, widespread evidence of large numbers of under-age brides. "It appears relatively rare for girls to remain unmarried by the age of 16," the report says."

Document(s): Open document

14.08.2003 - Source: Amnesty International

Currently a failure to treat forcible marriage as a criminal offence due to attitudes of judicial personnel and wider society ("Afghanistan: Re-establishing the rule of law") [#15047],  [ID 1292]

"Forcible and underage marriage is a crime under Afghan national law. However, the practice of forcing girls and young women to marry is widespread in Afghanistan. There is currently a failure to treat forcible marriage as a criminal offence due to attitudes of judicial personnel and wider society. One woman interviewed in Jalalabad told Amnesty International delegates that “it is impossible for a woman to complain about forced marriage….If she complains the family will kill her”.
In other areas of Afghanistan, where Amnesty International did find that cases of forcible marriage had come to the attention of the courts, there was an evident failure to initiate any criminal proceedings against the accused. For example, in one particularly serious case, the grandmother of an eight year old girl approached the court to facilitate proceedings against a 48 year old man to whom her granddaughter had been forcibly married. Under Afghan law, the legal age for marriage is 16. However, the court refused to initiate any proceedings for forcible marriage of a juvenile and stated that the only manner in which the case could be dealt with is through proceedings for divorce."

Document(s): Open document

14.08.2003 - Source: Amnesty International

Currently a failure to treat forcible marriage as a criminal offence due to attitudes of judicial personnel and wider society ("Afghanistan: Re-establishing the rule of law") [#15047],  [ID 1393]

"Forcible and underage marriage is a crime under Afghan national law. However, the practice of forcing girls and young women to marry is widespread in Afghanistan. There is currently a failure to treat forcible marriage as a criminal offence due to attitudes of judicial personnel and wider society. One woman interviewed in Jalalabad told Amnesty International delegates that “it is impossible for a woman to complain about forced marriage….If she complains the family will kill her”.
In other areas of Afghanistan, where Amnesty International did find that cases of forcible marriage had come to the attention of the courts, there was an evident failure to initiate any criminal proceedings against the accused. For example, in one particularly serious case, the grandmother of an eight year old girl approached the court to facilitate proceedings against a 48 year old man to whom her granddaughter had been forcibly married. Under Afghan law, the legal age for marriage is 16. However, the court refused to initiate any proceedings for forcible marriage of a juvenile and stated that the only manner in which the case could be dealt with is through proceedings for divorce."

Document(s): Open document

15.04.2003 - Source: European Council on Refugees and Exiles

No government intervention in case of early marriages ("Guidelines for the Treatment of Afghan Asylum Seekers & Refugees in Europe") [#12087],  [ID 1293]

"It should also be noted that position of women has changed little despite the lifting of formal legal restrictions on their movement by the Kabul government. There is frequent harassment in public places, affecting access to education, health facilities, jobs and leisure, in a number of areas women rarely go out in public. Domestic violence is widespread and there are no effective mechanisms to seek assistance or redress. Despite its illegality, girls as young as nine years old are married without intervention by the government. Returning female head of households or single females without family to return to will have no means of supporting themselves in Afghanistan."

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07.03.2003 - Source: Danish Immigration Service

DIS: Arranged marriages ("The Political, Security and Human Rights Situation in Afghanistan: Report on fact-finding mission to Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan and Islamabad, Pakistan; 22 September - 5 October 2002") [#11326],  [ID 1294]

"The Deputy Minister for Women's Affairs said that the type of arranged marriages which took place under the Taliban do not occur any more. The Deputy Minister advised that women who are at risk of being forced to marry or who are already in an arranged marriage can contact the Ministry and get assistance and a lawyer. In general, the Ministry will endeavour to get women out of their homes and onto the labour market and in this way give women more independence.
If a woman finds herself in a situation where her family is forcing her into a marriage she does not want, the Ministry of Women's Affairs will support the girl and explain to the parents that it is important for the girl to be happy. If the family then insists on marrying off the girl, the Ministry can do nothing more, and most will then have to accept the marriage. In this connection the Deputy Minister said that the woman is not allowed to see her future husband before the wedding. The source also said that the woman can get a divorce if she is able to prove that the husband is violent, but in that case she will lose her entitlement to her share of the dowry as well as any financial support from the husband.
The Director of the Secretariat of the Human Rights Commission and the Commissioner said that among other things, the human rights commission would be registering cases of arranged marriages.
UNAMA's Human Rights Advisor and the Political Advisor said that arranged marriages - where local commandants are forcing young women to marry them - is a frequent event. There are several cases of such arranged marriages in north-eastern Afghanistan, particularly in Badakshan. The source also mentioned that in certain areas this event is to some extent part of the local environment, which means that such arranged marriages are not even being reported. If the family of the young girl refuses to approve of the marriage between their daughter and the local commandant, they often receive death threats. According to the sources, there are numerous examples of such violations not being brought before the courts. The sources also said that poverty has meant that there are instances where families marry off daughters less than 10 years old. The sources mentioned that there is no protection against these injustices against women in the rural districts. This is especially due to the fact that there is rarely any reaction to violations in the local environment. A further problem, according to the sources, is the fact that very few people support women's rights, mainly because to be seen to do so may be a dangerous thing.
UNHCR, Kabul also said that there are reports about how poverty causes families to marry off their 14 year-old daughters to local commandants. This happens particularly in Jalalabad and Mazar.
AWA was of the opinion that arranged marriages, (and theft, murder and assaults) were more frequent than under the Taliban. Kidnappings by Mujaheddin happen every day. There are also more incidents of arranged marriages, where the local commandant or ruler does not use threats but instead offers to pay the family, and consequently the girl cannot refuse.
DACAAR advised that recently they had not heard of arranged marriages, where young girls are forced to marry older warlords or commandants. However, the source would not rule out that such marriages still take place in the north. On the other hand the source said that male prostitution, where young men/boys are sold to the warlords, has re-emerged.
ACBAR did not think that arranged marriages between young women and local commandants were currently taking place. There were, however, rumours of rape of Pashtun women committed by Uzbek soldiers, but in general few rumours of rape."

Document(s): Open document

04.08.2002 - Source: UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan

UNAMA: Increasing trend in reduced age for girls for marriage ("UNAMA Mazar: Mazar Area Weekly Integrated Report 26th July-4th August 2002") [#8309],  [ID 1295]

"Two large international NGOs with operations in Balkh, Jawzjan and Samnaghan provinces have reported increasing trend in reduced age for girls for marriage, from an earlier 13/14 years to presently as young as 7/8 years; reasons attributed are poverty, family debt, social vulnerability of a family in a difficult political context. Further work is required to ascertain the scale of this trend. However, it is also reported that when assistance projects recently were brought in earlier missed out areas of districts/groups of population, families dropped this practice immediately."

Document(s): Open document
Archive

12.07.2002 - Source: UN Human Rights Council (formerly UN Commission on Human Rights)

UN Secretary-General: Clear correlation between family's poverty and age at which girl children are married ("Report of the Secretary-General on the situation of women and girls in the territories occupied by Afghan armed groups (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2002/27)") [#8325],  [ID 1296]

"Early marriage
22. Drought, war and worsened economic conditions have led many families to take financial advantage of the tradition of bride price by marrying their daughters off at progressively earlier ages. There is a consistent and direct correlation between a family’s economic status and the age at which girl children are married. In very poor families, the process can sometimes be more akin to a “sale” than a marriage. Among families who are more financially stable the average marriage age is 20 years. In poorer families girls are more often married or promised for marriage at 10 to 14 years. Afghanistan is considered to be one of the countries with the highest percentage of married adolescents. Estimates suggest that between one third and more than half of the country’s girls (54 per cent), and almost one in 10 boys (9 per cent) are married between the ages of 15 and 19. This practice, which reportedly also involves girls who are pre-pubescent, denies girls important developmental opportunities, such as education. It also places them at increased risk of complications in pregnancy, sometimes leading to early death where the girl is too young to bear children safely, and has also been found to increase the risk of domestic violence."

Document(s): Open document
Archive.pdf