Revenge Killing: Child bride tortured to death by husband in Afghanistan

Image: AFP

New Delhi: In a shocking incident in Afghanistan's northwestern province of Badghis,  a female child who was forcefully married to a man twice her age was reportedly tortured to death by her husband in a revenge killing. The girl named Hameya who was aged between 7-10 years was found dead on Sunday night and her husband was on a run from police. As per reports, Hameya’s father had been detained for questioning by the police. The girl was married to the accused in the traditional bride exchange ritual known as “badal”, where girls are exchanged between two families as brides, thus eliminating the expense of paying dowry. As per reports, Hameya’s husband started torturing her after the girl sent as bride from his family was killed. It had been six months of their marriage. As per UN rule, the legal marriage age in Afghanistan should be 16 for girls and 18 for boys, however, child marriage is a traditional practice there and is hard to eliminate.