Afghan families sell toddlers into marriage as drought deepens poverty

Repeated droughts in north-west Afghanistan have devastated rain-fed agriculture in Badghis, pushing families like Gul Bobo's to desperate measures. With her husband unable to earn enough from farming, the couple arranged marriages for their two-year-old and five-year-old daughters, hoping the bride price will cover basic needs. Other villagers report selling girls as young as eleven to repay loans or fund treatment for ill children, often to much older men.

The trend has accelerated after major donors such as the United States and the United Kingdom cut most of their aid, leaving the country with less than 70% of the assistance it received the previous year. Advocacy groups warn that early marriage exposes girls to severe health risks, yet the clinics that could treat them are disappearing. The situation underscores a widening humanitarian crisis where poverty, climate stress, and aid shortages converge to erode children’s rights.