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Horrifying! Afghan man sells 9-year-old daughter to ‘keep family alive’

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As Taliban-ruled Afghanistan descends into an economic crisis, a proscribed practice has reared its ugly head in many parts of the country — that of selling young girls into marriage.

In recent months, many displaced Afghan families battling poverty and starvation have been forced to make the unpalatable choice of marrying off their barely adolescent daughters in exchange for money and sustenance that would ensure their survival.

One such heart-wrenching story is of nine-year-old Parwana Malik, whose family sold her to 55-year-old Qorban last month, reported CNN. Living in a camp for internally displaced people in the warn-torn country’s Badghis province, Parwana’s family of eight could barely make ends meet with jobs hard to come by and foreign aid drying up since the Taliban takeover.

In an interview to CNN, Parwana’s father Abdul Malik revealed he had already sold his 12-year-old daughter a couple of months ago. Now, he was forced to sell off another daughter “to keep other family members alive”, a decision that’s left him “broken” with guilt, shame and worry.

On her part, Parwana said she wanted to study and become a teacher. But her family’s dire financial circumstances have closed this door for her. Asked about her upcoming “marriage”, she fears that the “old man” would beat her and force her to work in his house.

Two days later, the buyer Qorban arrived at the Malik family’s home, paid 200,000 Afghanis (about $2,200) in the form of sheep, land and cash to Parwana’s father, and drove off with the girl.

Abdul Malik’s parting words to his daughter’s new owner were, “This is your bride. Please take care of her … please don’t beat her.” In response, Qorban assured the weeping father that he would be kind to Parwana and treat her like a family member.

In neighbouring Ghor province, 10-year-old Magul is distraught at the prospect of being married off to a 70-year-old creditor her family owes money to. “I don’t want to leave my parents. If they make me go, I will kill myself,” an inconsolable Magul told CNN.

Like Parwana and Magul, the future of scores of Afghan girls is shrouded in uncertainty. With the Taliban barring women from secondary education and poverty on the rise, more and more girls are being pushed into the marriage market.

“As long as a girl is in school, her family is invested in her future,” said Heather Barr, from Human Rights Watch. “As soon as a girl falls out of education, then suddenly it becomes much more likely that she’s going to be married off.”

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What monkey fled with a bag containing evidence in it: Read full story

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The court, generally, considers a person who commit a crime and the one who destroys the evidence, as criminals in the eyes of law. But what if an animal destroys the evidence of a crime committed by a human.

In a peculiar incident in Rajasthan, a monkey fled away with the evidence collected by the police in a murder case. The stolen evidence included the murder weapon (a blood-stained knife).

The incident came to light when the police appeared before the court and they had to provide the evidence in the hearing.

The hearing was about the crime which took place in September 2016, in which a person named Shashikant Sharma died at a primary health center under Chandwaji police station. After the body was found, the deceased’s relatives blocked the Jaipur-Delhi highway, demanding an inquiry into the matter.

Following the investigation, the police had arrested Rahul Kandera and Mohanlal Kandera, residents of Chandwaji in relation to the murder. But, when the time came to produce the evidence related to the case, it was found that the police had no evidence with them because a monkey had stolen it from them.

In the court, the police said that the knife, which was the primary evidence, was also taken by the monkey. The cops informed that the evidence of the case was kept in a bag, which was being taken to the court.

The evidence bag contained the knife and 15 other important evidences. However, due to the lack of space in the malkhana, a bag full of evidence was kept under a tree, which led to the incident.

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