The seventy-year-old man who married a fifteen-year-old girl.

There was a father who went to ask for the hand of a girl in marriage for his son and ended up marrying her himself. The story begins with a 70 year-old Afghan man who lived in Iran and had two sons who worked and cared for him.

The two young men worked hard for many years and put money aside for their future. The older one asked his father to find him a wife. The father agreed and said that he would make all the arrangements himself. He told his son to stay in Iran and carry on working, while he went to Afghanistan to look for a bride for him. The son was happy knowing that the father would find a suitable bride for him in Afghanistan.

Soon after the father arrived there he did indeed find a suitable bride. But instead of asking for her hand on behalf of his son, he offered an even larger dowry and asked for her hand for himself (In Afghanistan a man who wants to marry must pay a bride price to the father of the girl). The bride’s father didn’t ask his daughter whether she wanted to marry a 70 year-old, but agreed to give her to her “father-in-law”.

She was forced to marry the old man and moved with him to Iran, where everyone believed he was bringing back a wife for his son. When his son realised that his father had married his prospective wife, he became unbelievably miserable and despondent.

Meanwhile, the “groom”, who was unable to fulfill his obligations and duties as a “husband”, became violent and aggressive towards the young girl. The old man forbade her to wear make up, dress youthfully or take care of her appearance.

It was highly likely that nobody was aware of the feelings of the two young people (the girl and the original groom). The young girl really suffered. She was forbidden to leave the house under any circumstances. After a while she became pregnant, which added to her troubles. She eventually gave birth to a little girl.

Five years went by and the old man’s suspicions about possible relations between his wife and his son had made life intolerable for her. She asked for a divorce, but was unable to take custody of the child. She was heartbroken, but nevertheless managed to find work in order to make a living. Two years later, the old man’s son married someone else.

So, the little girl grew up without the warm embrace of her mother. So many mistakes were made, especially by the old man, which led to so many lives being ruined. When you feel you have reached “the end of the line”, go back to the beginning, but don’t make the same mistakes.

This article was originally published in the seventh issue of ‘Migratory Birds’. The seventh issue of ‘Migratory Birds’ was produced by the Network for Children’s Rights, and supported by UNICEF with funding by the European Commission — Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations. This edition was further supported by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung– Office in Greece, funded by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation, and published in Greece’s Efsyn newspaper on March 31, 2018.