6-year-old girl in Afghanistan is forced to marry a 55-year-old man in exchange for a goat (phoros)

A 6-year-old Afghani girl known as
Gharibgol has been sold into marriage
after her father allegedly exchanged her
for a goat, rice, tea, sugar and cooking
oil.
Thankfully, a concerned relative raised
the alarm about the wedding which led
to the arrest of the groom, Seyed
Abdolkarim and the girl’s father.




According to the father, he and his
family were desperate for food and by
selling his daughter he had one less
mouth to feed. He also insisted that the
new husband of the girl had sworn not
to have sex with her until she turned 18.
After the wedding, Abdolkarim
reportedly took the girl to a relative’s
house in Firozkoh, in Ghor province,
pretending she was his daughter.
But the concerned relative raised the
alarm, insisting Abdolkarim was
‘undressing her at night’.
Abdolkarim then told a relative: ‘No
[she’s not my daughter], she’s my wife,
her father gave her to me.’





Not convinced, the relative opened up to
a friend on the matter and the friend
promptly called the local women’s rights
bureau.
Responding to the situation, the bureau
says it will pursue a divorce and ensure
the father is stripped of his parental
rights.
The girl is reportedly now living with her
mother.
Women in Afghanistan are allowed to
marry from the age of 16, and men from
18.
Just recently, a 60-year-old cleric in
Afghanistan was reported to have
kidnapped and married a 6-year-old girl
insisting she was a ‘spiritual offering’
from her parents.