BALKH - Eleven-year-old Gulsum, a victim of a harmful tradition, ‘Baad,’ finally had to take the risk of running away from her forced marriage in Sar-i-Pul province’ s capital city on Tuesday.

According to provincial women affairs director Nasima Arezu, the victim had been given in to forced marriage to an eight-year-old boy in the village by local Taliban commander, Mullah Qasim.

Baad is a harmful traditional deal in which one side of the dispute that is found guilty will give a girl into forced marriage to a man of the other side in order to resolve it.

Ms. Gulsum became victim of a deal that was resulted by another disputed marriage.

In the recent past, Ms. Gulsum’s father fell in love with a girl in the village and married her, but it collided with traditional values of the village elders who decided to take it to a Taliban’s mobile court.

The court chose the ‘Baad’ option and forced the man to give her daughter into marriage to the boy of the same village.

The dispute was settled but Ms. Gulsum, the only victim of the deal suffered from harsh behaviors, humiliation and physical violence of her underage husband’s family.

After two difficult months, she finally decided to run away and seek shelter in Sar-i-Pul’s provincial Department of Women’s Affairs.

Arezu told media that Ms. Gulsum has demanded a divorce and that the case has been referred to the court. She added that the provincial governor has pledged to personally follow up on the case.

Source: Ariana Balkh TV