UN agencies warn restrictions on Afghan girls’ risk 25 per cent increase in child marriages

United Nations agencies said that the restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women and girls will increase the number of child marriages among Afghan girls by 25 per cent, according to media reports. 

A brief released by UN Women, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) highlights the issues faced by Afghan women and their demands of the international community.

According to the two-page brief, the continuation of restrictions by Taliban on women and girls will impact child marriages by an increase of 25 per cent, increase early childbearing by 45 per cent, increase the risk of maternal mortality by 50 per cent. Currently, 82 per cent of Afghan women consider their mental health to be bad, according to the brief. 

According to the joint brief released by UN agencies, Afghan women have not given up fighting for their right to live life with dignity despite the restrictions imposed on them by Taliban. It is the only nation in the world that bans girls from studying in schools beyond the sixth class. Moreover, Afghan women have been banned from attending university,

The brief said, "Afghan women are still forming civil society organisations, still running businesses, and still providing services to their communities; most importantly, Afghan women have continued to find ways to make their demands to the international community clear."

In the brief, UN Women, IOM and the UNAMA have said that Afghan women have urged international community to remain focused on the situation in Afghanistan and restore the rights of women, including the rights to education and work, as per Afghan-based media reports.
 
UN Women, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in the brief said that Afghan women ask the international community to remain focused on the situation in Afghanistan and to restore women's rights, including the rights to education and work, in addition to women's participation in public decision-making.

Meanwhile, a number of analysts stated that the world does not have a policy to address these restrictions. Nesar Ahmad Sherzai, a political analyst, stressed that forced marriages can be considered a very small part of the obstacles preventing girls from continuing their education.

Soraya Paikan, a women's rights activist, said, "Now that school and education have been restricted for girls and they have been deprived, families are once again forcing their daughters into marriage against the principles and civil law of Afghanistan, which sets the minimum age of marriage for girls at 16," as per media reports. 

Earlier, several nations, including the US called for the lifting of bans against women in Afghanistan and stated that Taliban will not be formally recognised until the women's rights are observed.