As Taliban fighters and suicide bombers arrived, people’s bitter and painful memories of the first Taliban regime resurfaced. Despite their promises and claims of change, the Taliban continue to exclude women from all areas of life. Their widespread restrictions have led to a rise in forced and early marriages in Herat.
Some girls, coerced by their families into marrying Taliban members, lament, “We wish the Taliban hadn’t come, and we wouldn’t be so miserable.” Residents of Herat confirm that the Taliban’s takeover has intensified fears among girls and their families, worried about reliving the harsh experiences of the first Taliban rule. Accounts from that time reveal how the Taliban forcibly married young girls and beautiful women across many parts of the country or took women as wives after forcing them to divorce their husbands.
Since the Taliban’s return, young girls and women have been forced into marriage despite neither they nor their families planning for early marriage. However, the Taliban’s resurgence and the accompanying fears have pushed them into unwanted unions. Fakhria (pseudonym), a ninth-grade student in Herat, says she was forced into marriage after the Taliban’s return.
She adds that she was not ready for marriage, but the Taliban’s dominance made her family decide on her marriage. Fakhria explains that she had hoped to continue her education, but as she puts it, “The Taliban’s dark rule brought a dark fate to my life.” This gir.