More Geneva (AFP) – With a devastating drought worsening an already horrendous humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, parents are increasingly compelled to "sell" young daughters into marriage to pay off debt or buy food, the UN said Tuesday.
"Prior to the drought, over 80 percent of households were already in debt," she said, adding that many people who had hoped to pay off their debt when crops came in have been unable to do so.
Children are paying the price for conflict, children are paying the price for the drought," she said.
"It is very, very shocking," said Suraya Pakzad, who heads Voice of Women, Afghanistan.
"Girls aged between 8-12 years old (are being) sold to old men to solve the economic issues … of their families," she told reporters on the sidelines of the conference.
She described speaking with a father who had "sold" his seven-year-old daughter into marriage, and who said he had no other choice.
I am suffering from that.
But can you give me some option?…
Particularly food," she added.
The UN refugee agency also said that the worst drought in decades has made a desperate situation worse.