‘When she turns eight they will take her’: rising number of Afghan girls being sold into child marriage

Jul 15, 2026 - 05:15

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‘When she turns eight they will take her’: rising number of Afghan girls being sold into child marriage

Afghanistan is seeing a resurgence in underage brides and mothers as desperate families sell their children in order to eat

Sima* is 18, but has already given birth four times. Her youngest is a newborn, the eldest is four. Sitting with her children in their mud-brick room in Badghis province, Sima says: “After the Taliban entered the country, I had just finished the sixth grade and was supposed to start the seventh. But two months later, my father pressured me immensely to marry my cousin. After being beaten by my father several times, I was forced to accept.”

At 13, Sima became a bride inside the compound where she still lives, and where she has given birth to her children. One child died of pneumonia aged one. She does all the housework: fetching water, tending the cows, baking naan in a tandoor. All the while, her children cling to her legs, crying.