"We accept $ 3,500 to marry our 5-year-old daughter and pay for our son's medical care."

Inayatulhaq Yasini and Swaminathan Natarajan / BBC

Nazanin * is engaged to

wedding

with 5 years. At the age of 10, I was a woman. Her husband's family, a 12-year-old boy, bought him $ 3,500 six years ago.

His parents sold him to raise money for the treatment of his sick son, Nazanin's brother.

"My son's pain was unbearable.When I looked at his face, I thought we should accept the money." Nazanin 's father was reluctant, but I persuaded him to accept the money in exchange for our daughter, "said the mother of the child who lives in the refugee camp. Shahrak e Sabz, near Herat, west of

afghanistan

.

Nazanin's parents have seven children, including three girls and four boys. They have never been to school and can not read or write. They have neither money nor work.

Inayatulhaq Yasini from the BBC Global Service told them about the decision to sell their daughter.

Repentance

"Our son has been suffering from epilepsy since the age of 4 and we had no money to pay for his treatment," says Nazanin 's father.

In a desperate effort to save the son, the family decided to abandon his daughter.

"I took the money and I agreed to give in marriage to our eldest daughter Nazanin.I used the money to pay for my son's treatment, but he did not Was not recovered and I could not stay with my daughter, "says the mother.

"If someone sells his little girl like that, it is obvious that there will be repentance, I have it too, but it does not help," the father interjected.

Weddings of children

In Afghanistan, the legal age of marriage is 16 for girls and 18 for boys. But many are getting married younger.

According to a report by

Unicef

In 2018, 35% of Afghan girls are married before the age of 18 and 9% before age 15.

In the rest of the world, Niger is the country where performance is worst in this area, with 76% of girls married before 18 years.

In Bangladesh, where remarkable economic progress has been made in recent years, this figure is 59%, according to the report.

"Bride price"

Afghanistan has had decades of war and, more recently, a terrible drought, which means that many families have few job prospects and face poverty.

"In our tribal customs, concluding a marriage agreement is not a problem nor a taboo, even if the children are very young, but many marry their daughters only when they are 18 years old" says Nazanin's mother.

According to Islamic law, the groom must give a gift to the bride, which usually corresponds to an amount agreed at the conclusion of the marriage contract. This is known as Mehr (dot) and belongs to the girl.

But in addition to the Mehr, the bride's father or older brother can ask for and receive money – the "bride price" – from the groom's family before the wedding.

Asking the "bride price" is an Afghan tradition that has no basis in Islamic law, according to Faizal Muzhary, a researcher for the organization.
Network of badysts in Afghanistan.

The money billed depends on several factors, such as the status of the family, the beauty, the age and the education of the girl, and can range from a few hundred dollars to over 100,000 USD.

In a country with a GDP per capita of less than US $ 600, the "bride price" can be a turning point for some families.

Strong drought

The Nazanin family was hit by the deadly drought that hit most of Afghanistan in 2018.

"We were working in fields and we had cattle, but we had to leave everything," says the father.

Their animals died of dehydration and the family left his hometown in Badghis province, in northwestern Afghanistan, to settle in the camp near Herat, the third largest city of Afghanistan located near the Iranian border.

according to

The United Nations,

275,000 people had to leave western Afghanistan because of the drought.

Many local and international agencies are helping, but Nazanin's father says he's still waiting for his.

Trapped in a spiral of debt. The future of the other two girls of the couple, who are not yet 10 years old, seems uncertain.

"If my misery persists and I find someone willing to give me money for my other daughters, I will do the same, my lenders call me two or three times a day for their pay what I owe them, "said Nazanin's father.

"My girls are the only badets I have."

Unhappy marriage

Beaten by drought and forced displacement, the family opted for an early marriage to reduce the cost of food.

Last year, when Nazanin turned 10, the family organized his wedding, which was attended by over 100 people.

"I gave everything I could to my daughter, the wedding money we received was not much either," says the father.

But it was far from a happy event.

"If you were not in such a desperate situation, you would not accept the marriage of a child so small, I swear I would not have done it, but I 'd not do it. I needed the money, I was forced by my need, "insists the father.

"What can we do?" It was the only possible option for me, I'm not alone, many others have done the same thing because of drought and financial problems. "

A 2015 report by the Norwegian Refugee Council found that women and girls living in informal settlements in urban areas are more likely to be married to older men, who are better able to pay "price of the bride".

But Nazanin, now 11, is not married to an older man.

"She spent two months at her in-laws, they treated her as her own daughter, her husband is about 12. She is also very shy and does not speak much," says the mother.

Without your consent

Nazanin has never been consulted about her marriage. Her parents never explained to her the roles and responsibilities inherent in married life and, unsurprisingly, Nazanin was struggling to adapt.

"He said nothing, we thought he was not happy because we missed him," says the mother.

"We asked them to let the girl stay with us for a few more years," he adds.

Nazanin is back with her parents. Her parents-in-law promised to see her again when she grew up a bit in two or three years.

"She does not know how to behave with her in-laws and her husband because she's very young," her father explains.

"They live in the province of Nimruz, and ten days ago our son-in-law came and stayed with us for a few days," he says.

Change of law

Unicef ​​has documented 161 child commitments and weddings in Herat and Badghis between July and October of last year. Of these, 155 girls involved and six boys.

"Child marriage is a well-established social norm in some parts of the country, and the situation is compounded by war and drought," said Alison Parker, UNICEF Communications Officer for Afghanistan. ,

"From July to October, the number of child marriages has increased, but since then, the government has intervened with force, which has resulted in a sharp reduction of these marriages."

The Afghan government is developing an ambitious five-year campaign to end all forced and underage marriages by 2021.

A law that will raise the minimum age of girls' marriage to 18 years is pending approval by Parliament.

Clever girl

The Nazanin family is still waiting to receive help from the government or humanitarian agencies. The only advantage is that the place offers them opportunities to learn.

Parents are proud that their eldest daughter knows how to write her name and that of her father.

"Nazanin is a smart girl, she knows the alphabet," says the mother.

Two of his children are also going to school.

But the family is far from happy and says there is no one to support them. This concerns the little Nazanin.

"Nazanin said to me," Mom, you married me very young, but my brother did not recover. But he also said, "My brother will recover and I will grow up too. "I regret to have married, but I still hope good future," says the mother.

* Nazanin's name has been changed to protect his identity. Illustrations by Jilla Dastmalchi.