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AFGHANISTAN/CHILD MARRIAGE
Farzana was engaged at 10 years old, her husband to be, a 50-year-old farmer who was already married with six children. He gave her father more than (USD)$9,000 for her hand in marriage - making less than (USD) $30 a month, he could not refuse. (UNICEF)
STORY: AFGHANISTAN/CHILD MARRIAGE
TRT: 4.49
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / DARI/ NATS
DATELINE: 13 JUNE 2013, HERAT PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN
1. Wide shot, mountains
2. Various shots, ‘Farzana’ drawing in a room with her younger brothers and cousins. Her mother Habiba looking on
3. SOUNDBITE (Dari) ‘Farzana’, schoolgirl:
“I was crying very hard and telling my parents that I don’t want to go through with this.”
4. SOUNDBITE (Dari) Yahya, brother:
“I would have missed my sister a lot she provides a lot of support for my family. And the groom was too old.”
6. Various shots, ‘Farzana’ outside her home playing a game in the courtyard with other children
7. SOUNDBITE (Dari) Ghulam, father:
“We had a lot of problems – we were so poor, we had nothing. If we didn’t have these problems, we wouldn’t have agreed to this marriage.”
8. Med shot, the room the children are drawing in
9. Various shots, Child Protection Action Network and a local Imam walking to ‘Farzana’s’ house and meeting her father
10. SOUNDBITE (Dari) Sultan Mohammad Yusufzai, Imam, Pushtae Yakhdan Village:
“The main reason for child marriage is poverty and that forces parents to agree to early marriage. The second reason is low awareness amongst families about Islamic principles and human rights.”
11. Various shots, busy market in Herat
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Micaela Pasini, Chief of Child Protection, UNICEF Afghanistan: “If violence against children remains widespread and socially accepted, most children won’t complain about it, most adults won’t report it, and professionals might hesitate to act upon it. So we work with communities to help them to understand and identify how to better protect their children from violence.”
13. Various shots, Sultan Mohammad Yusufzai holding a meeting about child marriage
14. SOUNDBITE (Dari) Sultan Mohammad Yusufzai, Imam in Pushtae Yakhdan Village “Islam prohibits child marriage. Even if a boy and girl are engaged, they cannot live together until the girl has matured. Islam does not permit such marriages until the bride and groom are grown up.”
15. Various shots, Imam and member of the Child Protection Action Network meeting with ‘Farzana’s’ parents
16. Various shots, ‘Farzana’ playing with other children
17. Various shots, boy running in the field
‘Farzana’ was just 10 when she got engaged.
A wealthy 50-year-old farmer, who was already married with six children, gave her father more than US$9,000 for her hand in marriage.
The shy schoolgirl says she was devastated.
SOUNDBITE (Dari) ‘Farzana’, schoolgirl:
“I was crying very hard and telling my parents that I don’t want to go through with this.”
Even Farzana’s little brothers were shocked.
SOUNDBITE (Dari) Yahya, brother:
“I would have missed my sister a lot, she provides a lot of support for my family. And the groom was too old.”
‘Farzana’ says she pleaded with her father to cancel the wedding, promising to eat only bread so she wouldn’t be a financial burden on the family.
But her father says he had no choice. Earning less than $30 a month as a casual labourer, the money offered for ‘Farzana’ was too much to refuse.
SOUNDBITE (Dari) Ghulam, Father
“We had a lot of problems – we were so poor, we had nothing. If we didn’t have these problems, we wouldn’t have agreed to this marriage.”
In desperation ‘Farzana’s’ mother Habiba alerted local members of the Child Protection Action Network, which is supported by UNICEF.
These men along with a local religious leader spent three months convincing ‘Farzana’s’ father and the groom to cancel the wedding.
SOUNDBITE (Dari) Sultan Mohammad Yusufzai, Imam in Pushtae Yakhdan Village:
“The main reason for child marriage is poverty and that forces parents to agree to early marriage. The second reason is low awareness amongst families about Islamic principles and human rights.”
Child marriage is widely practiced in Afghanistan.
Nearly 19 percent of girls are married before the age of 15, almost half are married by the time they are 18.
It’s a practice UNICEF says can only change with the involvement of the whole community.
SOUNDBITE (English) Micaela Pasini, Chief of Child Protection, UNICEF Afghanistan:
“If violence against children remains widespread and socially accepted, most children won’t complain about it, most adults won’t report it, and professionals might hesitate to act upon it. So we work with communities to help them to understand and identify how to better protect their children from violence.”
Some of the most powerful advocates for child protection here are religious leaders.
In Pushtae Yakhdan village in Herat Province, Imam Mohammad Yusufzai has made it his personal mission to end child marriage.
SOUNDBITE (Dari) Sultan Mohammad Yusufzai, Imam in Pushtae Yakhdan Village:
“Islam prohibits child marriage. Even if a boy and girl are engaged, they cannot live together until the girl has matured. Islam does not permit such marriages until the bride and groom are grown up.”
It was the community’s intervention that ultimately saved Farzana just ten days before her wedding.
She is now 12 years old, and like any child she spends her time playing and going to school.
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