BBC: Poverty in Ghor Has Forced Families to Sell Young Daughters

Photo: © Imogen Anderson / BBC

The BBC has said in a report that extreme poverty, unemployment and hunger have forced some families in Afghanistan into difficult decisions, including selling their young daughters for marriage.

The report, prepared from Chaghcharan, the capital of Ghor, describes the situation of families who, because of a lack of work, reduced humanitarian aid and drought, are unable to meet their basic needs.

The report says some fathers in Ghor have said they have been forced to consider selling their young daughters to provide food, pay for treatment or settle debts.

Abdul Rashid Azimi, a resident of Ghor, told the BBC that because of poverty and debt, he is willing to sell his seven year old daughters for marriage so he can feed his other children.

The BBC also quoted Saeed Ahmad, another father in Ghor, as saying that he sold his five year old daughter to one of his relatives after illness and in order to pay for treatment costs. According to him, if he had money, he would never have made such a decision.

This comes as cuts in aid, unemployment, drought and Taliban restrictions on women have forced poor families in Afghanistan into harmful decisions such as selling young girls and early marriage.