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A six-year-old girl was married to a 45-year-old man in Helmand Province, local sources said, in a case that has sparked widespread condemnation after an image of the wedding circulated on social media.
The ceremony took place in Marjah District, where the child’s father reportedly arranged the marriage in exchange for money. The groom, according to local sources, already has two wives.
The union was set to be formalized on Friday with the girl’s transfer to her husband’s home. However, Taliban officials intervened and temporarily halted the process. The man was briefly detained but not prosecuted. Instead, sources said, the Taliban instructed him to wait until the girl turns nine before bringing her home.
Images from the ceremony, showing the man beside the visibly young girl, have provoked outrage online and among rights advocates, who say the case reflects a broader rise in child marriages in southern Afghanistan — particularly in provinces like Helmand, Kandahar, and Zabul, where the Taliban exert strong control.
Human rights groups have repeatedly warned that the absence of a clear legal framework, lax enforcement, and lenient responses from Taliban authorities have created conditions that allow such cases to continue. Several organizations described the incident as part of a pattern of “ongoing human tragedy” affecting girls across the country.