Illegal Marriages

The article 22 the of law of Afghanistan states that, whether a man or woman both have equal rights
and duties before the law, but still each year thousands of women are scarified due to the customary
practices and believes which exist in the rural area of Afghanistan. These customary practices, such as
illegal marriages make women to give up their lives for the desires and wants of others. In fact women
are also human beings they have the right to live their lives. Cultural diplomacy plays a significant role in
eliminating the root of illegal marriages, which destroys the lives of thousands of Afghan women via the
legal and non-legal system of justice.

Illegal marriage is the marriage which is not recognized and accepted by the law. The practice of
illegal marriages started when the men got the full authority on the society and became the only owner
and ruler of the community, especially during the Taliban region. On that time women were treated as
slaves or even worse than that. They were deprived from all the living facilities, everything was imposed
on them even they did not have the right to choose whom they should spent the rest of their lives with.
Thought their region collapsed but their views and beliefs still governs people’s minds. By the coming of
peace and security in the country the practice of illegal marriages should be eradicated, the government
should establish local educational programs to raise the awareness of people and alert them about the
negative consequences of illegal marriages on women’s and on the society.

Early Marriage

One of the most important and debatable issue currently in Afghan cultures is the early marriages. Early
marriage is the violation of the children’s right as it is the marriage of children and adolescents below
the age of sixteen. Early marriages are common almost in all parts of Afghanistan, especially in
undeveloped societies of this country. The practice of marrying girls at young ages is more common than
the boys in Afghan families. Each year thousands of young children become victim of such customs.
Afghan People continue to keep the practice of early marriage alive ignoring its negative consequences
on the children’s lives, their offspring’s and on the long term ramification on the community.

Different purposes exist behind the culture of early marriage in Afghan families; mostly, poverty
is the main reason for the practice of early marriages. Extensive economical deficiencies still forces
many parents to get their daughters wedded to escape the cost of caring for them as richer husbands
will pay a larger bride-price for a girl. Overall, early marriages have negative impacts on all aspects of the
children’s lives. The children married at an early age, give up their childhood pleasures, education, and
accept all the responsibilities of leading the household chores at the early stages of their lives. If a girl
can not maintain the house she is treated badly by her in- laws, beaten up by her husband which can
lead most of the young girls to the psychological disorders at the end. According to Baghan Mukhatari,
child marriage affects girls badly in many ways. It keeps them from education and any possibility of
independent work. Often produces serious physical trauma, psychological disturbance and sometimes
lifelong physical or emotional incapacities (Mukhatari). Early marriages many times cause early
pregnancy, premature birth, or child health deficiency and sometimes lead to the death of the young
mothers and their children. According Nour Nawal M, though early marriages increase the risk of
depression, sexually transmitted infections, maternal mortality; the offspring of such marriages are at an
increased risk for premature birth and, subsequently, neonatal or infant death (Nour).

As the child marriages are like process of children caring children, young mothers with lack of
knowledge, especially mothers who face psychological difficulties are not in the position to raise the
baby in its proper way so it will have negative effects on the next generation as well.

Early marriages dose not only convey negative consequences on the next generation but also affect the
economic and development of the society. Most of the time, children who marry before the legal age
when the grow up they will not be willing to continue such life any more. In case of unhappiness,
dispute will increase among them. As this country is a male dominated country when a boy grows up he
will not accept his existing wife, so marries a woman of his own choice. The first wife has to accept and
adjust her life to that situation which will slowly lead her to psychological problems. In case of not
having someone to help and to listen to her she commits suicide, or escape from home. If the girl
commits suicide, the girl’s family seeks for the revenge and the hostility will continue between the many
generations of girl’s and boy’s families or if she tries to escape from her husband’s house. She will be
treated like an animal beaten up by the husband and no longer be accepted as a wife. In such situations
the family of daughter interferes which it will lead to the long term hostility between the two families of
the boy and the girl. As early marriages lead to the formation of multiple families. The husband has to
provide the both families (his first and second wives and their children) the shelter, the food, and the
clothes. Poverty increases quickly in such families as a man is the only source of income most of the time
the father fails to provide the two families all the facilities of living.

Lack of financial sources make the children to come out on the streets and do works out of their ability
like walking on the streets begging, polishing shoes or selling things on the streets to feed themselves
and their families. These situations will deprive them from education as they are grown illiterate it will
have negative impacts on the development of community and increase poverty in that community.
Because the children are future builder of the country if they are not educated and raised properly, they
may not be able to contribute to the development of their community.

Though direct and informal communication, cultural diplomacy can aware the people and
convey the messages about negative consequences of child marriages and its long existing effects on the
children’s lives. Ministry of women affair and ministry of justice could play a vital rule in spreading the
message of negative effects of early marriage over the whole societies. As the elementary education is
compulsory in the law of Afghanistan but no attention has been giving over implementing this rule. The
government should act strictly to implement this rule and punish the parents who disobey this law
because education could play a good role in postponing the practice of early marriages in the rural areas
of Afghanistan. Poverty and security which are the two other factors associated with the practice of
child marriage they should be given serious consideration. As widespread poverty still makes many
parents to get their daughters married to avoid the cost of caring for them by establishing factories and
increasing employments in the rural areas and offering economical supports and motivations girls and
their families for education cultural diplomacy can make the percentage of early marriage go down.
Researches shows that, girls with secondary schooling are up to six times less likely to marry as children
when compared to girls who have little or no education” (UNICEF 2007).

Forced Marriage

Where marriage is the socially recognized union of the spouse and includes agreement of both, the
husband and the wife. Unfortunately in most Afghan rural area this right is taken from them, especially
women, as they are deprived from this right. Illiteracy and poverty is the base for the practice of the
forced marriages which make women to spend the rest of their lives with the person chosen by their
parents.

As forced marriage is where one or both people do not have consent to the marriage and they are being
forced to marry each other, this type of marriage is more common in the rural area of Afghanistan. Each
year thousands of Afghan women in the rural area are forced to marry against their will. According to
the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, “In Afghanistan, 60-80 percent of all marriages
is forced”. The main reason behind forced marriages in the rural area of Afghanistan is lack of education
among people as when girls reach their legal ages, sixteen, the only think which comes into their parents
mind is to marry their daughters as they believe, it is sin to keep young girls at home. Many families feel
ashamed if they have young unmarried women at home and they think it will low their social statue in
the society. Most afghan families consider a daughter as financial burden who must be married to
decline the economic problems. Extensive economical insufficiencies in the rural area of Afghanistan
are the other key reason for the practice of forced marriages, as the brides’ families receive huge
amounts of money in form of toyana (money is given by groom to the daughters’ family in order to
marry their daughter). Some families marry their daughter without her will to a man twice her age just
to get money from the boys’ family. Especially families whose main job is farming, they are marrying
their daughters to the wealthier old men without her will to solve their economic problems. In most
rural parts even if a family refuses to get toyana it means to their locale people that their girl did not
have any value to their parents and their parents just wanted to get rid of her. Not just financial
problems but the high level of illiteracy among Afghan people in the rural areas and the law status of
women in the society are the origins for the continuous practice of forced marriages.

Culture diplomacy can eradicate the root of forced marriages and bring changes into people’s minds
through launching the educational programs in the local areas, empowering and educating women
about their rights and as well as their parents. As the decision to wed daughters is on the hands of
parents, the girls themselves have no right to select their husbands therefore; parent teaching could be
the main base of changing social norms. Besides that, holding local Jirgas and inviting the local elders
and other people of the community to gather and negotiate the negative consequences of forced
marriages on women’s life and on the community and in informing them about the law of Afghanistan in
regard to illegal marriages and the punishments which they will receive by forcing women to marry and
violating their rights. This way cultural Diplomacy can create fear in people’s mind and make them to
stop forcing their daughters’ for the marriage.

Bad Dadan
Not just forced marriages but also the other type of illegal marriages which has been long practiced in
the rural parts of Afghanistan is called bad dadan. Though, bad dadan which is prohibited by the law is
still practiced among Afghan people in the rural areas to settle dispute between the two families or
tribes, which causes the women to sacrifice their lives for the wrongdoings of their family members. Bad
dadan which means giving bad, these types of marriages are most common in the rural parts of
Afghanistan. A custom exist among rural people, when someone kills someone else a woman either his
daughter or sister of murderer is married to the victims close family member to end the dispute among
them. “Bad dadan is a kind of marriage, where girls and women are given to marriage without her will to
the opposite side to settle a dispute between the two families or tribes, often a blood dispute” (john W.
Warnock).

In this kind of marriages girls are not forced to marry but they are kindly asked by her parents to marry
the victim’s relative either his brother or cousin, whatever his age is, to bring pace between the two
families or the tribes otherwise to get the revenge the victim’s family either kills the murderer or one of
his relatives. In order to not to lose one of her family members the girl (either sister or daughter of the
murderer) agrees to marry the victim’s brother or his cousin. Thought this kind of marriages prevents
the long lasting hostility between the two families or tribes but make the women to sacrifice their lives.
As it is called that the girl is giving as a form of bad to the victim’s relative. At the time of entering at her
in-law’s house she is not welcome by them and the marriage ceremony is not held. Mostly the girl is not
accepted by the husband as a wife; she is treated like a slave and has to do all the works of the house if
she complains or refuses to obey them she is beaten up by the family members and the husband. Also,
she loses the right to meet their parents and her family members are not allowed to come to her house
regularly.

In addition, to bring peace, stability and put an end into the dispute between the two families or tribes
girls are made to sacrifice their lives and have to accept the slavery life in the husbands’ house.
According to the civil law of Afghanistan article 40, marriages is a contract between male and female for
the establishment of a family it should include the consent of the both sides. The legal system of justice
should strictly implement this civil law and punish those who practice bad marriages. In bad marriage,
the consent of both side is involved because they have no other choice rather than to marry each other
to settle the dispute. As this marriage tries to settle dispute of murdering someone, and these types of
decisions are made by local people, the legal system of justice should abandon this types decisions to
end their disputes punish them for deciding issues which violates women right and by providing
different options, cultural diplomacy can eliminate the practice of such marriages. For example, by
holding local Jirgas cultural diplomacy should make the local people realize, if a person murder someone
why his sister or daughter has to pay for his evils. By holding educational programs and direct
communications to the society elders cultural diplomacy could inform them about the long lasting
hardships which are imposed on the girl’s at their husband’s house after giving her as a bad to the
victim’s family. As everyone should be punished based on what they has done by providing logical and
Islamic reasons like in holy book Quran there is a verse about this issue, that no one will carry the sin of
others cultural diplomacy could bring changes in people’s minds

Formal and informal system of justice

Formal and informal justice systems which are the two authentic institutional structures for providing
peace and stability around the country also could play a vital role in providing justice in the rural areas of
Afghanistan. Despite Formal system being registered and recognized as form of legal justice institutions
and having the huge support of the government still it could not abandoned the practice of informal
system. As informal system is not just based on the Sharia rules but it also contains the rules based on
peoples cultural beliefs and traditions. Informal system like Jirga and Shura which is mostly based on
Sharia and local people’s thoughts and beliefs, has been long practiced among Afghan people. Informal
system, which comes to exist in the absence of formal system, was the main process of governance over
many years. “In the content of the Jirga/shura, elders reach a decision in according with accepted local
traditional values” (Wardak). It could be the main reason that why it still plays a vital role in providing
peace and stealing dispute among people. The people who contribute the informal system like, local
leaders, elders and Mulas are all from the same geographical area. They all share the same values and
believe and their judges would be based on their social norms and Islamic rules. According to Lamb,
Most of the individuals are pleased about the informal instructions as they have faith in that informal
institution is less despoiled. And the majority of Afghans consider that religious leaders are for the help
of community. Because they are considered as directed, easily reached, unbiased, trustworthy people
and their judge would be based on the local norms and values but these local norms and values ignores
women right regarding their marriages. Though, formal and informal systems are two separate
organizations, but their main scope is to answer to the publics’ necessities, implement justice and bring
equality within the society using different approaches. As formal system prohibits illegal marriages and
those who follow it will be prisoned for two years but still no one has been prisoned regarding this issue
the formal system of justice should take this issue seriously and punish the follower of this action and
makes the informal system of justice to follow legal system of justice while deciding on illegal marriages
and stop the practice of illegal marriages. Cultural diplomacy by ingratiating the formal and informal
system of justice can eradicate the root of illegal marriages from the rural area of Afghanistan.

In addition, by raising the awareness of people and making them realize the long term effects of the
illegal marriages on each individuals’ lives, especially women, through holding Jirga’s and integrating the
local justice system with the legal system of justice, cultural diplomacy can bring changes in people’s
thoughts and stop them from the long term practice of illegal marriages
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International Studies (2012).Web. 10 Nov 2013.

Malhotra, Anju, et al. "Solutions to End Child Marriage” what the evidence shows. (2011).Web.

5 Sep 2013.

Mukhatari, S. Bahgam W. "Study on Child Marriage." Medica Mondaile (2004).Web. 12 Nov

2013.

Nour, Nawal M. "Health Consequences of Child Marriage in Africa." Emerging infectious

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“Teen mothers face high death risk”.4 May 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3682565.stm.Web.3 .

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Unicef.Web. 9 Nov 2013.

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