WOMEN’S RIGHTS

Surge in Child and Forced Marriage in Taliban-Run Afghanistan

Young girls are increasingly been forced into marriage since the Taliban took power in August 2021

Rustam Seerat
Fourth Wave
Published in
6 min readSep 6, 2024

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I co-authored this article with Reza Ehsan.

The situation for women in Afghanistan has drastically deteriorated since the Taliban seized control of the country on August 15, 2021. The sudden and forceful takeover, following the 2020 U.S.-Taliban deal in Doha and the escape of former President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, has resulted in a swift and severe rollback of women’s rights. The Taliban’s imposition of draconian policies, particularly the ban on female education beyond the sixth grade and restrictions on women’s work and public life, has had profound and far-reaching consequences. Among the most devastating impacts is the alarming increase in child marriage, forced marriage, and domestic violence, issues that have been mainly overlooked amidst the broader human rights violations occurring in the country.

The Taliban’s restrictions on women and girls

One of the most immediate and visible actions taken by the Taliban after regaining power was the imposition of restrictions on women and girls. These restrictions included…

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Rustam Seerat
Rustam Seerat

Written by Rustam Seerat

I scout Afghanistan media for stories about women that deserve wider attention. Whatever I earn on Medium, 50% will be donated to educating children in Afg.