• A young girl walks through a camp for internally displaced people, administered by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in northern Afghanistan. Photo: Ruchi Kumar for The National.
    A young girl walks through a camp for internally displaced people, administered by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in northern Afghanistan. Photo: Ruchi Kumar for The National.
  • An Afghan mother describes her fear that her daughters would be taken away as wives by Taliban militants at a camp for internally displaced people, administered by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in northern Afghanistan. Photo: Ruchi Kumar for The National.
    An Afghan mother describes her fear that her daughters would be taken away as wives by Taliban militants at a camp for internally displaced people, administered by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in northern Afghanistan. Photo: Ruchi Kumar for The National.
  • Young girls pass the time at a camp for internally displaced people, administered by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in northern Afghanistan. Photo: Ruchi Kumar for The National.
    Young girls pass the time at a camp for internally displaced people, administered by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in northern Afghanistan. Photo: Ruchi Kumar for The National.
  • Jailed Taliban pray inside the Pul-e-Charkhi jail. After a series of delays, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani issued a decree to release 1,500 Taliban prisoners. AP
    Jailed Taliban pray inside the Pul-e-Charkhi jail. After a series of delays, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani issued a decree to release 1,500 Taliban prisoners. AP
  • An internally displaced Afghan girl who fled her home due to fighting between the Taliban and Afghan security personnel, peers from her makeshift tent at a camp on the outskirts of Mazar-e-Sharif, northern Afghanistan. AP Photo
    An internally displaced Afghan girl who fled her home due to fighting between the Taliban and Afghan security personnel, peers from her makeshift tent at a camp on the outskirts of Mazar-e-Sharif, northern Afghanistan. AP Photo

Taliban trying to force Afghan girls as young as 13 into marriage


  • English
  • Arabic

Thirty-nine-year old Gulpari was forced to make some hard decisions when the Taliban was closing in on her village in the north of Afghanistan six weeks ago.

Recalling the terrifying nights her family spent fearing for their lives, she said the Taliban was shooting on the ground, while "from the sky, the government was bombarding our village”.

The Taliban asked to marry our daughters to them. They said if a house had two daughters, at least one should be given in marriage to the Taliban
Gulpari,
39, Afghan mother

Living in makeshift shelters on the outskirts of Mazar-e-Sharif city, Gulpari, a single mother of seven from a village in Jowzjan province described her ordeal.

In the days after the Taliban arrived in her village, the militant group started imposing draconian rules, particularly ones that restrict women’s freedom

“They announced that the women would not be allowed outside without a chadari," she said, referring to a full face veil.

"Soon after, they closed the girls’ school,” Gulpari told The National, adjusting her traditional blue burqa to cover most of her face while she spoke.

Before the war she wore the garment rarely but since moving to the IDP camp she keeps it close by at all times.

  • Afghan women and a boy outside a shop in the old quarter of Kabul.
    Afghan women and a boy outside a shop in the old quarter of Kabul.
  • An Afghan woman in an alley in Kabul's old quarter.
    An Afghan woman in an alley in Kabul's old quarter.
  • A girl uses a hand pump to fill a container with drinking water in Kabul, Afghanistan.
    A girl uses a hand pump to fill a container with drinking water in Kabul, Afghanistan.
  • A young girl in the old quarter of Kabul.
    A young girl in the old quarter of Kabul.
  • Children play football on a dried-up lake bed in Kabul.
    Children play football on a dried-up lake bed in Kabul.
  • An Afghan security official searches a vehicle at a check point in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand province, Afghanistan.
    An Afghan security official searches a vehicle at a check point in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand province, Afghanistan.
  • A security official checks people at a check point in Lashkar Gah, in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
    A security official checks people at a check point in Lashkar Gah, in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
  • Afghan National Army soldiers at a roadside check point in Herat, the provincial capital of Herat province in Afghanistan.
    Afghan National Army soldiers at a roadside check point in Herat, the provincial capital of Herat province in Afghanistan.
  • Afghan soldiers stand guard at a check point in Herat, Afghanistan.
    Afghan soldiers stand guard at a check point in Herat, Afghanistan.

“Most of the clinic and medical facilities were also shut and women were forbidden from visiting even the female doctors and midwives, unless they were accompanied by a mahram,” she said, referring to a male escort, which the Taliban strictly insists upon for all women.

But it was when the Taliban came for her daughters that Gulpari decided to abandon her home of more than 20 years and escape with her children in the dead of night.

“The Taliban asked to marry our daughters to them. They said if a house had two daughters, at least one should be given in marriage to the Taliban,” said Gulpari, who has two daughters aged 13 and 15.

“My girls were terrified when they heard this. They were scared and wouldn’t stop crying till we had fled the district."

Gulpari wasn’t the only woman escaping such a fate.

Many women who shared the compound for displaced families, living in small cramped tents, recounted similar experiences.

“In our district, [the Taliban] also put out an announcement in the mosque so that everyone can voluntarily list their daughters,” said Rabia, an older woman living in the same camp as Gulpari.

“Things had started to worsen since the 20th of Ramadan,” she said, referring to May 1.

“[The Taliban] blew up a police district office in Balkh. Many Afghan forces died in that attack and since then, the Taliban started to control the area, making new rules and even operating their own courts.

"Then they said they will start marrying our girls and women after Eid. We did not wait to find out if they did; we left soon after."

Similar reports of forced marriages by Taliban militants in areas they control have surfaced in the past three months.

Since the start of the year, the Taliban has launched one of its largest offensives to date, seizing control of most rural areas and surrounding major cities.

A statement bearing the militant group’s insignia was shared widely on social media, calling for religious leaders in the captured districts in Badakhshan and Takhar to refer girls older than 15 and widows younger than 45 to the “Mujahideen Cultural Commission”.

“These sisters will be married to the [Taliban fighters] and taken to Waziristan [in Pakistan] to be returned to Islam”, implying that women would be forced to adhere to the insurgents' religious edicts.

While Taliban members have denied accusations of forced marriage, calling them “baseless” and “propaganda”, women activists across the country are reporting such stories.

“Women are being married off as sexual slaves – this would be the term I would use,” said Pashtana Durrani, an education activist from Kandahar province in the south, where she has encountered similar cases.

Her family received threatening letters from the Taliban two weeks ago, said Ms Durrani, who is from Spin Boldak, a town on the border of Pakistan currently under control of the insurgents. But she said she was more furious than afraid.

“This is happening but I am not scared right now. I am furious at the people whose job it was to protect us,” she said, referring to the failure of security forces to stop the Taliban.

“The government is doing nothing and that is enabling the Taliban. Why weren’t they prepared for this?

“Still, there are things the government can do to help the women. Temporary shelters for women escaping these areas, housing for families, groceries, sanitary kits and medical help – these are just some of the things that can set the government apart from the militants.”

People would contribute to these efforts if the Afghan government took the initiative, she said.

Ms Durrani also criticised the silence and lack of solidarity from the international community.

“We were used as business cards," she said. "When they needed us for promoting women’s rights and equality campaigns to justify this war, they were here, but nothing after that. Not one side is sincere in protecting our rights.

“I am not just worried for the Afghan women but I am furious."

She said women were now on their own in this struggle, a view echoed by Gulpari, who said she was willing to fight to protect her daughters.

“If someone gives me a gun today, I will fight them. Our lives have changed and they don’t treat us like humans. We have to fight to get our homes and dignity back,” she said.

Match info:

Burnley 0

Manchester United 2
Lukaku (22', 44')

Red card: Marcus Rashford (Man United)

Man of the match: Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)

%E2%80%98FSO%20Safer%E2%80%99%20-%20a%20ticking%20bomb
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Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.

Based: Riyadh

Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany

Founded: September, 2020

Number of employees: 70

Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions

Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds  

Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH

Directed by: Shaka King

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons

Four stars

So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?

Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
 

Mina Cup winners

Under 12 – Minerva Academy

Under 14 – Unam Pumas

Under 16 – Fursan Hispania

Under 18 – Madenat

Infobox

Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman

The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August

Results

UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets

Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets

Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets

Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs

Monday fixtures

UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain

Ahmed Raza

UAE cricket captain

Age: 31

Born: Sharjah

Role: Left-arm spinner

One-day internationals: 31 matches, 35 wickets, average 31.4, economy rate 3.95

T20 internationals: 41 matches, 29 wickets, average 30.3, economy rate 6.28

Where to submit a sample

Volunteers of all ages can submit DNA samples at centres across Abu Dhabi, including: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec), Biogenix Labs in Masdar City, NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City, NMC Royal Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, NMC Royal Women's Hospital, Bareen International Hospital, Al Towayya in Al Ain, NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain

 

 

Her most famous song

Aghadan Alqak (Would I Ever Find You Again)?

Would I ever find you again
You, the heaven of my love, my yearning and madness;
You, the kiss to my soul, my cheer and
sadness?
Would your lights ever break the night of my eyes again?
Would I ever find you again?
This world is volume and you're the notion,
This world is night and you're the lifetime,
This world is eyes and you're the vision,
This world is sky and you're the moon time,
Have mercy on the heart that belongs to you.

Lyrics: Al Hadi Adam; Composer: Mohammed Abdel Wahab

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home. 

Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill

Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.

MATCH INFO

Quarter-finals

Saturday (all times UAE)

England v Australia, 11.15am 
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm

Sunday

Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm

Company%20profile
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode

Directors: Raj & DK

Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon

Rating: 4/5

TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel

RACE CARD

5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Turf) 2,200m
5.30pm: Khor Al Baghal – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Khor Faridah – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
7.30pm: Khor Laffam – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m

Updated: August 04, 2021, 2:56 PM