Taliban forced 19-year-old girl into marriage with her 42-year-old employer

The Guardian has reported that the Taliban’s morality police forced a 19-year-old girl, referred to as Samira, into an arranged marriage with her 42-year-old married employer, Mohammed, in Kabul in July 2024.

Samira worked at a carpet-weaving workshop for a monthly wage of 7,000 Afghanis. One day, while waiting outside the workshop to collect her pay, Taliban patrol officers accused her of "immoral behavior" for being in proximity to a non-relative male. Both Samira and Mohammed were arrested.

Fearing imprisonment, Samira’s family falsely claimed she was engaged to Mohammed. Without any investigation, the Taliban compelled them to marry on the same day at the detention center.

Samira was then taken to Mohammed’s house, where she faced abuse from her own family upon their discovery of the incident. She still bears scars from the beating inflicted by her father and brothers. Her sister Yasmin tried to convince their father to bring her home, but he refused, citing societal shame.

Samira, who once dreamed of becoming an engineer, now lives with Mohammed, his wife, and their children. She stated, “The men in my family are no different from the Taliban.”

Shaharzad Akbar, head of the human rights group Rawadari, noted that such incidents are not uncommon but are rarely reported due to fear. She emphasized, “Taliban officials believe they have the right to control people’s lives without consequences.”