Due to the lack of hope for the reopening of girls’ schools in Afghanistan, thirteen-year-old Zainab was forced to select a wedding gown instead of a new school uniform. Since the Taliban seized control of Kabul and forbade them from attending school, numerous young girls have been married off, many of them to much older men of their father’s choosing.
As Zainab said, ‘I sobbed a lot and continued promising my father that the Taliban will reopen females’ schools’. He said, ‘But that’s not going to happen, and it’s better that I get married than to hang around the house’. Zainab’s wedding date was established shortly after the prospective husband arrived, along with his proposal of a few sheep, goats, and four sacks of rice as bride price, which is a long-standing custom in rural Afghanistan.
As is usual, Zainab moved in with her husband, who is 17 years older than her, and her new in-laws. Afghanistan is the only country in the world that forbids girls from enrolling in secondary school. Many parents have hurried the marriage of their teenage daughters who have spent the most of their time alone in their houses since the Taliban terminated their education.
There was a momentary hope that the Taliban, who retook control in the country in August of last year, would provide women more liberties in contrast to their harsh, austere rule in the 1990s. The education ministry had planned to reopen females’ schools in March, but the clandestine supreme commander Hibatullah Akhundzada cancelled such intentions.
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