30.12.2004 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Many farmer's daughters are being paid in return for opium debts, as farmers have very few legal options to resolve their debts with drug dealers ("Daughters Sold to Settle Debts") [#27974],  [ID 1422]

"Like many other farmers in Afghanistan, Gul Miran had planned to pay back the loan with the proceeds from his crop of poppies, which would eventually be turned into heroin. But as part of its stepped up effort to combat the drug trade in the country, the government had ploughed under his fields and Gul Miran was left with nothing.
"I accepted the girl in return for my loan,” said Haji Naqibullah, who had advanced Gul Miran the money. “We had an agreement. He would [pay me back] regardless of whether his crops were wiped out by the weather or by the government.
"In a year or 18 months I will marry her off to my youngest son," he said. "He is 19-years-old and has been married to his first wife for two years but has not had a child yet."
Payenda Gul, who grows poppies in the Shinwar district, was forced to give his 17-year-old daughter to a divorced man of 38 in order to pay his debt.
"When you have an agreement with an opium dealer, nothing but the opium can be paid but they cannot refuse the daughters.
[...]
Syed Jafer Muram, deputy director of the Nangarhar narcotics-control authority, said that farmers have few legal options to resolve their debts with drug dealers.
"Cases like this don't come to the notice of officials,” he said. “If a father tried to get help for his daughter he would be arrested for opium trading. Such issues are usually solved through a jirga.”
Malik Sydullah Momand, a tribal elder of the Batikoat district, agreed that such disputes should be resolved by a local jirga, an Afghan tradition where village elders settle disputes between families.
"People respect jirga and accept its resolutions," he said. "It is a matter of shame if a man has to take his daughter's case to the courts.
"If daughters are being paid in return for opium debts it should be stopped. It is likely we will try to prohibit this practice. But it needs time. It can't happen overnight."
An official with the International Committee on Human Rights said the organisation is aware about the situation but that there is little that can be done unless official complaints are lodged.
"If such practices were brought to our attention we could act,” said Sharifa Shahab. “But neither ICHR nor the police are informed."

Document(s): Open document

28.06.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Tens of thousands of school-age youngsters, restricted by economic hardship, must still work on the streets of Kabul to sustain their families ("Poverty forces children to quit school to work") [#23625],  [ID 1426]

Document(s): Open document

11.11.2003 - Source: ReliefWeb

Over 70,000 children are estimated to be working in the informal sector on Afghanistan's city streets ("Emergency Update: Nov 2003") [#17584],  [ID 1431]

"It is common for all members of a family, including children, to play a role in the family's subsistence. Over 70,000 children are now estimated to be working in the informal sector on Afghanistan's city streets. These children are often unprotected and can face exploitation and abuse. Girls and boys are also known to be engaged in hazardous labour in some rural areas. Particularly vulnerable are the children of widows, children with disabilities and other marginalised families."

Document(s): Open document

01.07.2003 - Source: BBC News

Children growing up in refugee camps in Peshawar (Pakistan) are being drugged by their parents to leave themselves free to work ("Opium pacifies Afghan refugee children") [#14023],  [ID 1432]

Document(s): Open document

31.08.2002 - Source: UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan

UNAMA: Evidence of poor families selling boys as free labor ("Afghanistan Weekly Situation Report Relief, Recovery and Reconstruction (25 -31 August 2002)") [#8571],  [ID 1433]

"During a child-focused survey carried out by an international NGO, evidence of selling boys as free labour by vulnerable and indebted families, mostly to rich carpet weaving/trading families was reported in a number of villages."

Document(s): Open document