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Girls increasingly at risk of child marriage in Afghanistan
UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said this week she is “deeply concerned by reports that child marriage in Afghanistan is on the rise”.
In a statement issued Saturday, Fore said: “We have received credible reports of families offering daughters as young as 20 days old up for future marriage in return for a dowry.
“Even before the latest political instability, UNICEF’s partners registered 183 child marriages and 10 cases of selling of children over 2018 and 2019 in Herat and Baghdis provinces alone. The children were between 6 months and 17 years of age,” she said.
UNICEF estimates that 28 percent of Afghan women aged 15 to 49 years were married before the age of 18.
Fore attributed the rise in child marriages to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing food crisis. She said the onset of winter has also further exacerbated the situation for families.
In 2020, almost half of Afghanistan’s population was so poor that they lacked necessities such as basic nutrition or clean water.
“The extremely dire economic situation in Afghanistan is pushing more families deeper into poverty and forcing them to make desperate choices, such as putting children to work and marrying girls off at a young age.”
She said UNICEF is working with partners to raise awareness around the risks for girls if they are married early.
“We have started a cash assistance program to help offset the risk of hunger, child labour and child marriage among the most vulnerable families. We plan to scale up this and other social services programs in the months to come.
“UNICEF will also work with religious leaders to ensure that they are not involved in the “Nekah” (the marriage contract) for young girls,” she said.
In light of this, UNICEF called on all central, provincial and local authorities to take concrete measures to support and safeguard the most vulnerable families and girls. “We urge the de facto authorities to prioritize the reopening of schools for all secondary school girls and allow all-female teachers to resume their jobs without any further delays.
“The future of an entire generation is at stake,” Fore said.
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IEA should respond to Pakistan’s security concerns with concrete actions: Andrabi
Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Hussain Andrabi says both Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Sadyr Japarov, the President of Kyrgyzstan, who visited Islamabad on Thursday, expressed their mutual commitment to a peaceful, stable Afghanistan with a sustainable future for the Afghan people.
Speaking in a press conference on Friday, Andrabi stated that both sides agreed that the Islamic Emirate must fulfill its obligations toward the international community and take concrete steps against terrorist groups to address Pakistan’s legitimate security concerns.
This comes while the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has repeatedly emphasized that no terrorist groups operate from Afghan territory and that it will not allow anyone to use Afghan soil against any country.
The Islamic Emirate has also stated that Pakistan’s security concerns are an internal issue of that country, and Pakistan itself must take measures to prevent any security incidents.
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Malaysia’s PM calls peaceful solution to Afghanistan-Pakistan tensions
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has voiced deep concern over escalating tensions between the Afghanistan–Pakistan during a telephone conversation with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Anwar said he emphasized Malaysia’s concerns regarding regional stability and urged all parties to pursue a peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomatic engagement to prevent further escalation.
His remarks follow media reports indicating heightened tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan after a series of attacks in October.
During the call, the two leaders also exchanged views on several aspects of Malaysia–Pakistan bilateral relations.
Anwar also briefed Sharif on the ongoing flood situation in Malaysia and similar challenges facing neighboring countries, including Indonesia and Thailand.
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Afghanistan makes major strides in cutting drug trafficking, says Putin
Putin stated that Afghan authorities have “substantially reduced” opium cultivation and are “seriously confronting” drug-related threats from within their borders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says Afghanistan has taken “active and effective” steps to curb drug trafficking, noting a significant drop in opium production across the country. He made the remarks during an exclusive interview with India Today during his India trip, highlighting what he described as “visible progress” in Afghanistan’s internal security efforts.
Putin stated that Afghan authorities have “substantially reduced” opium cultivation and are “seriously confronting” drug-related threats from within their borders. He added that Afghanistan has also made important advancements in the fight against terrorism.
Responding to a question about why Russia officially recognized the Islamic Emirate, the Russian president said Afghanistan had been engulfed in civil conflict for many years, but the current authorities now hold control over the country. “This is the reality, and it must be acknowledged,” Putin emphasized.
He further noted that maintaining contact with Afghanistan’s leadership is crucial for shaping events inside the country. “If you want influence, you must engage with the people in charge — and that is exactly what we are doing,” he said.
Putin’s remarks come as several regional powers continue to recalibrate their diplomatic strategies toward Afghanistan, focusing on stability, counterterrorism, and economic cooperation.
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