A 6-year-old Afghani girl known as Gharibgol has been sold
into marriage after her father allegedly exchanged her for a goat, rice,
tea, sugar and cooking oil.
Thankfully, a concerned relative raised the alarm about the
wedding which led to the arrest of the groom, Seyed Abdolkarim and the
girl's father.
According to the father, he and his family were desperate for food and
by selling his daughter he had one less mouth to feed. He also insisted
that the new husband of the girl had sworn not to have sex with her
until she turned 18.
After the wedding, Abdolkarim reportedly took the girl to a
relative's house in Firozkoh, in Ghor province, pretending she was his
daughter.
But the concerned relative raised the alarm, insisting Abdolkarim was 'undressing her at night'.
Abdolkarim then told a relative: 'No [she's not my daughter], she's my wife, her father gave her to me.'
Not convinced, the relative opened up to a friend on the matter and the friend promptly called the local women's rights bureau.
Responding to the situation, the bureau says it will pursue a divorce and ensure the father is stripped of his parental rights.
The girl is reportedly now living with her mother.
Women in Afghanistan are allowed to marry from the age of 16, and men from 18.
Just recently, a 60-year-old cleric in Afghanistan was
reported to have kidnapped and married a 6-year-old girl insisting she
was a 'spiritual offering' from her parents.