Underage Marriages in Afghanistan: Real Reasons Versus Official Justifications

Abstract

This paper analyses the main reasons and public debates regarding underage marriages in Afghanistan. It attempts to answer the following question: “What are the reasons for the continuation of underage marriage and what kind of official arguments are people are making when defending it?” More specifically, this paper studies the main arguments made to reject any law banning underage marriage, comparing this to the actual reasons behind the continuation of underage marriages. The emphasis of the thesis is to identify the main reasons for underage marriages and look at the difference between formal justification of this practice and actual motivations. The topic is important for Afghan women and gender studies since underage marriages violate women’s rights. The research adds to find out the reasons behind uncooperativeness of people regarding laws banning underage marriages.