Under age marriages have consequences: Experts

ZARANJ (Pajhwok): Naz Gul, 11, a resident of Zaranj City in northwestern Nirmoz province, was forced to get married two years back by their drug-addicted father said she was living a terrible life dealing with violence and dozens of other problems.

Her seven-year-old sister met the same fate two years back and was forced to get married by her addicted father. Naz Gul said she had no information about her sister for the past two years and did not know whether her sister lived or died.

The practice of marriage before puberty has existed in some countries of the world, including Afghanistan. Experts say that most of these cases did not lead to good results and caused couples to live bitterly.

My father sold me against 200,000 afs: Naz Gul

Naz Gul, a resident of Zaranj City, said two years ago she was forced to marry a 40-year-old man on basis of her parent’s decision, adding that now she was 11 years old and had not reach puberty.

He told Pajhwok Afghan News as his eyes welled up: “My father is an addict… My father didn’t have money, he sold me to a 40-year-old man against 200,000 afs, my sister was married to a 50-year-old man against his debts.”

Naz Gul, who still has no idea about marriage life regarding her husband said: “I am afraid of the man, I sit awake in the courtyard every night until morning.”

Due to the fact that she has no idea of joint life she witnessed violence and torture from her husband when he come home in the evening.

Regarding her sister, she said: “My seven-year-old sister was married to a 50-year-old man and she was taken to Bakwa district.”

This is not only Naz Gul and Ayesh who got married before puberty, but Fatema, 48, is another victim who got married before puberty and now has an unhappy life.

She said she was married when she was 10, she had a Badal marriage and was married to a 25-year-old man and till now has an unhappy life.

She has 12 children and brought to the world her first child when she was 13 years old. “I didn’t understand the joys of childhood, I didn’t grow young, and I didn’t see any good in my life. When I became a teenager, I became a mother.”

Fatima said Marriage at a young age, successive births and household problems made her tired and sick, and she is currently suffering from back pain, and due to economic problems, she cannot afford treatment.

She said until her children did not reach the age of 18, she would not let them get married: “Parents should not force their sons and daughters to get married before they are young, let them study, become familiar with housework, and get used to the cold and heat of good times.”

Marriage before puberty causes health issues: Physicians

Dr. Yasmin Habibi, a Gynecologist specialist at Zaranj provincial hospital told Pajhwok Afghan News: “Although these families feel proud of marrying their daughters at very low age but they were unaware that huge health issues would be faced by their daughters.”

She said: “Marriage before 18 is dangerous because the body growth is not complete and not ready for becoming mother, threats such as going into comma, high blood pressure, bleeding  and others could occurs, in addition, the patient could suffer physiological problems.”

Islam encourages marriage after puberty:

Mawlavi Mohammad Hassan Haqyar, one of the religious scholars, said: “According to Hanafi jurisprudence, the age for marriage is determined for a girl after menstruation and for a boy after conception.”

He said: “A young girl and a boy can be married by both their fathers and grandfathers, but the important condition is that the fathers and grandfathers should have awareness and should weigh the consequences of the boy and the girl and understand that this is their chance, and if not, they will lose this chance and their future will be ruined, and whoever has bad possessions should not sell the girl, does not have their own personal interests, like some gamblers who give away their little daughters in gambling, if this is not the case, it means that the father and grandfather should benefit their daughter.”

He added a Nikkah could be revoked if the girl’s marriage was pledged by others without relatives in her childhood.

Haqyar added: “Indeed, there are many people in Afghanistan who marry girls to people in exchange for money. There are people who marry their 16-year-old or 17-year-old girls to elderly men, and ruin the lives of girls; this is not the right thing to do. .. When the girl grows up and reaches puberty, she can terminate the marriage.”

Mawlavi Gul Ahmad, one of the Nimroz Ulema and influential persons, said: “According to Hanafi jurisprudence, the age for marriage is determined for a girl after menstruation and for a boy after conception.”

He added marrying girls at small age before their puberty age was a culture in some parts of the country in the past and still remained in some areas.

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