KABUL - The 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence is an international campaign that runs from 25 November, International Day of Elimination of Violence against Women, through 10 December, International Human Rights Day.

This year’s theme is “From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World” highlighting the key roles women play in the family and as peacemakers and peacekeepers in war zones. In Afghanistan, support for women’s issues is one of the five priorities of the United Nations agencies and programmes.

Today’s story is authored by the United Nations

Twelve-year-old Razia in the eastern region was forced to marry an older man who she said beat her. She said she tried to contact her father, but worried that he would have to return her dowry, he ignored her pleas. Razia ran away and hid in a shelter where after time a lawyer helped her secure a divorce.

More than half of all marriages in Afghanistan are marriages where the girl is under the legal age of 16, according to UN WOMEN and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).

In a study of 200 married girls, 40 per cent were married between the ages of 10 and 13; a third wed at the age of 14; and 28 per cent at the age of 15.

Widespread illiteracy and nationwide poverty are the main causes of and challenges to eradicating underage marriage. High bride prices are central to the commodification of women and girls, with them being sold off to the highest bidder. The practice also leads to selling of young girls by poor families to older men. Marrying off the girls in the family can also offset the costs of finding brides for the boys.

In some poor areas, girls are traded for livestock, and in one case in Badghis, a girl was exchanged for a vehicle. There are also cases where girls are married off to settle loans, such as debts after a bad harvest.
Up to 70 percent of registered cases of violence against women have their origins in early marriages, according to AIHRC.

Early marriage also leads other physical problems. Early brides become early mothers, often becoming pregnant before their bodies and minds are physically mature.

To combat early marriage and other illegal practices, the United Nations is working with the Government and its partners to give force to the Law on Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW) and raise awareness about its importance.

Educated women and healthy families are the foundation of a peaceful and progressive Afghanistan.