KABUL, Afghanistan — A teenage girl, deprived of education since the Taliban’s school closures, says she was forced by her family into marriage as a result.
The girl, known as Wazhma (a pseudonym to protect her identity), is only 13. She now lives in what she describes as an “uncertain situation” after being compelled to marry a 41-year-old man for a bride price of 600,000 Afghanis, or roughly $6,800.
I wanted to sit in a classroom, to study, not to get married and have children. Traditional taboos make our lives bitter, and we can’t reach what we want.
Wazhma, who had been a seventh-grader when the Taliban closed schools for girls above sixth grade, said her dreams of education ended with her family’s decision to marry her off. While her five older sisters completed school and attended university, Wazhma now faces a future vastly different from the one she had imagined.
“When the schools closed, my life became bitterly tough, and I was forced to marry a man 30 years older than me,” she said. “I wanted to sit in a classroom, to study, not to get married and have children. Traditional taboos make our lives bitter, and we can’t reach what we want.”
Across Afghanistan, many girls are reporting similar hardships, saying the denial of education has left them vulnerable to forced marriages and mental health issues. Wazhma said her family arranged her marriage as an escape from economic and social pressures, and her story echoes the experiences of countless girls who have been cut off from schooling for over two years.
According to the United Nations and various human rights groups, the Taliban’s ban on girls’ secondary education has driven more families to push daughters into early marriages. Afghan girls who were once in school now speak of depression and a sense of abandonment.
“Our education was halted,” said another Afghan girl, who also asked not to be named. “We girls fell into depression. I became isolated, and it’s not just me—all Afghan girls who were barred from education are in despair. We live in a country where we have no right to education or work, and we continue without any hope.”
The U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) recently reported a surge in forced marriages, noting that 35 percent of Afghan girls are now likely to be married before turning 18, up significantly since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
