In a heartbreaking incident, poverty, hunger and the worse situation of his family forced a father in Afghanistan to sell his 9-year-old-daughter – Parwana Malik, to a 55-year-old man.
The 9-year-old told a media house that she wants to study and aspires to be a teacher, but now her dreams are torn away, and she fears that the old man would beat her and force her to do his household chores.
For four years, her family have lived in an Afghan displacement camp in northwestern Badghis province and were surviving on humanitarian assistance and menial work, which only earned them a few dollars per day.
Girl’s father(Abdul Malik) noted that their lives got tougher after the Taliban takeover the country and he tried a lot to save her by taking loans from relatives and even going far away in search of a job but eventually failed and is now holding shame and guilt for selling his daughter to marriage. He noted that they are unable to afford the basic necessities, and this whole situation forced him to take this difficult decision.
On October 24, Qorban, the buyer handed – 200,000 Afghanis (about $2,200) in the form of sheep, land and cash to Parwana’s father. Qorban cited that he already has a wife who will take care of Parwana like their own children.
He noted, “Parwana was cheap, and her father was very poor, and he needs money. She will be working in my home. I won’t beat her. I will treat her like a family member. I will be kind to her”.
Handing over the daughter to Qorban, Abdul stated, “This is your bride. Please take care of her. You are responsible for her now; please don’t beat her”. Earlier, Malik’s father also sold his 12-year-old sister.
The international assistance to Afghanistan drains up, and the economy is collapsing, which is forcing the people there to sell their daughters.
Another one had taken debts and were not able to clear it and are now selling his 10-year-old daughter to a 70-year-old man. The girl (Magul) is crying and saying that she does not want to leave her parents.
The situation is getting more tense and unsafe for girls and women in Afghanistan. It seems like they are in the barter system. This is just a story of two girls, but there are several girls and women who are crying and praying that they better die rather than get sold to a person who will sexually abuse them, will make them their servant and are beaten up.
