Afghanistan: Murder of Child Bride Sparks Protests in Kabul

A young Afghan girl has died after her husband’s relatives allegedly tortured her and set her on fire. The girl was reportedly married off at the age of twelve or thirteen to settle a family dispute. She was four months pregnant when she died. In 2009, Afghanistan enacted the Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which criminalized the forced marriage of girls under 18. However, according to reporting by the New York Times, little visible progress has made in holding perpetrators accountable or protecting girls from the high risk of violence, poverty and death associated with child and forced marriage in Afghanistan.

 

Compiled from: Mashal, Mujib, Clash of Values Emerges After Afghan Child Bride Burns to Death, The New York Times (July 18, 2016).