We have yet another horrific case of a girl being treated as chattel — one more girl among an estimated 10 million forced to marry worldwide. Her father, Abdul Momin, sold her for $2000 in a small village near the border with Tajikistan. Child brides remain common in Afghanistan under Sharia law and local custom. The girl, Mina, was forced also to drop out of school. After all, she is now married. She had dreamed of becoming a teacher.
Afghan media showed the girl being married off to a boy of 12. When sold away into such marriages, these girls generally lose any opportunity for education — if it even exists for girls.
The wedding was reportedly attended by the local Mula Imam (religious leader) who insisted that the marriage was absolutely moral and right with Islam. We have seen other cases where girls this young have been married off to middle aged men under the same sense of morality.
The Imam noted that “[t]here is no ban for under age marriage in special conditions in Islam.” The “special condition” in this case appears to be that the father needed the money and could not afford the girl. However, Muslim clerics have defended such marriages as not “underaged.”
Oh my dear Lord Jesus, I just read the story. I cannot believe we go to war over certain things, only after the war is over do we then say, why did we go to war. My Dear God people, this is child abuse in this day and age. When I read this my heart sank and I threw up. There must be something that we can do to stop this from happening. I know in Islam religion, if you want to call it a religion. I know women in Islam have NO rights what so ever. They are treated as second class citizens, SLAVES. They are not allowed to talk, unless their husbands give them permission to do so. And theses poor women, girls, do not know any better. THIS IS A CRIME!!!!!!!!! HOW CAN THE WORLD STAND BY AND ALLOW THIS TO CONTINUE TO HAPPEN??????!!!!!!!!!!! MAKES ME SICK!!!!!!!!NOT JUST SHAME ON THE ISLAMIC SO CALLED RELIGION, AND THE ISLAM MEN, BUT ALSO SHAME ON EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD FOR ALLOWING THIS TO HAPPEN TO CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOD HELP US ALL
Where else can you buy a sex slave with unlimited privileges… uh… besides Chicago.
Doglover, some women who are drawn to ‘bad boys’, those guys with an excess of testosterone (or pretend they have an excess) tend to be women unsure of their own femininity and feel less feminine with gentle guys, strange but true. It’s a messed up world.
annie – I am not sure that ‘excess of testosterone’ is a medical term or condition.
What can we do to make incompetent men feel more confident about themselves so that they don’t need to get their confidence from dominating and controlling women? Obviously they feel like they have to have someone to oppress or they are not real men. The image of “real men” must be changed to one of kindness, generosity, wisdom, from one of depravity and destructive behavior.
I worked with a Sikh woman wo was in an arraigned marriage. The couple lived with the husband’s parents which is the case in most of these marriages, her mother in law was very cruel to her, not allowing calls or letters home, to go out to the stores, or with friends, her husband beat her and she was used as a slave in the home. She was pregnant at he time. She told me one day she just snapped and grabbed her shoes, coat and purse, it was winter, her mother in law grabbed her purse and coat away and all she had on was her shoes and the clothes on her back. She was able to get away despite her MIL beating her and she ran to the nearest store and asked for a quarter to make a phone call to a friend. That is how she got away from her husband and in laws temporarily. She actually went back to her husband because he agreed to get their own place, her life isn’t much better, she still is used by her in laws, they just drop over unannounced and she is expected to make a full meal for them, even if she was sleeping after working a third shift at the hospital. She felt hopeless and her parents back in India won’t support her if she divorced. What a sad existence this poor woman had. I think that if women in these male dominated societies continue to abuse each other, they won’t be able to improve their lots in life much. Its self perpetuating, what a shame that even women assign such low value to their own sex.
In Afghanistan some young brides in forced marriages burn themselves up as to scar themselves or as a suicide attempt. What a sad sick society it is when it is male dominated, theocratical, misogynistic and homophobic. What a hellish part of the world.
I knew two divorced women who escaped arranged marriages in Muslim India. Both were badly beaten. One was forced to sleep on the floor and to have multiple abortions because her husband forbade her to take birth control and controlled her every move.
One of them met and married an American while I knew her who treated her like a queen. Happy ending.
Another problem with dowries is that bride burning is so common in India.
I have known families who arranged marriages. In one, the girl tried dating in the US, and it was a disaster. So she agreed to let her family take care of it. They made an announcement at mosque that she was available, and interviewed men. When they found one they liked, the two met. After that meeting, she had to make a decision about whether to get engaged. Once they were engaged, they were allowed to date unchaperoned for 2 months, with a strict curfew and rules. During that time, if she decided she didn’t like him, she could have called it off with no repercussions. She went through with the marriage and is reported to be very happy.
I knew another Muslim girl who was staying with friends to attend high school here. After she graduated, she would return to India where she would be given to an older man in an arranged marriage. She had no choice in the matter. Once given, she would be considered part of his family, and no longer part of her own. She was scared, but if she refused the match, her family would have disowned her. Even though her ties would be loosened by her marriage, she did not want to lose them completely. She had grown up very sheltered. She was scared, but had no choice. I felt so sorry for her. Her host family offered to keep her and work with immigration, but she refused.
At its best, arranged marriages let parents weed out the bad boys, and present their girls with only suitable matches with boys that will treat them with honor and respect. At its worst, the girls are just chattel to be bought, sold, and abused.
I do not care for the system.
Have I mentioned yet today that Sharia Law abuses human rights in every single country where it is practiced, or that the Prophet set an unfortunate example when he married a 9 year old, consummating when she was 10?
Sad story in all respects.