A 25-year-old woman shot herself to death after enduring family pressure to marry against her will in Ghor province say sources familiar with her death.
“The woman was being given into marriage against her will, the marriage ceremony was supposed to be held soon,” says a resident of the capital Firozkoh, where the woman lived. “But this girl did not want to go to the village and live with her future husband, but her father did not pay attention to her opinion, so she committed suicide,” explains the source, who spoke to Zan Times on condition of anonymity.
One of the girl’s relatives, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, says that the young woman shot herself in the head with a pistol on Monday. The relative that the woman died on the way to the hospital.
Amnesty International’s research on the lives of women and girls, shows a surge in forced marriages under Taliban rule. “This increase is due to several interrelated drivers, many of which are attributable to the actions and policies of the Taliban and its members since they seized control,” explained the research, which was published in July.
The research also highlights that, in addition to the economic and humanitarian crisis and lack of educational and work opportunities for women and girls, families’ fear of the Taliban and their need to protect their daughters is another common driver of the rise in forced and child marriages.
