Zan Times: Shazia is seven years old, the age when Afghan children start school. But an education isn’t an option for Shazia, who lives in Kandahar city, the spiritual home of the Taliban. A month ago, her father forced her to marry a 22-year-old member of the Taliban, a relative tells Zan Times. “One day after the wedding, Shazia was whimpering and wanted to go back to her father’s house, but her in-laws did not allow her,” says the relation. The mullah imam who performed the wedding of this child says, “This marriage was done with the consent of the agents of both parties.”
CNN: At least 78 people have died in freezing conditions in Afghanistan in the last nine days, a Taliban official said Thursday, deepening a humanitarian crisis affecting millions of people now living under the control of the radical Islamist group. Shafiullah Rahimi, a spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Disaster Management, told CNN that along with the loss of human life, more than 77,000 livestock had also frozen to death in recent days.
Amu TV:A research organization that asked not to be identified for security reasons said they have recorded at least 2,200 cases of forced marriages in the past year, of which 900 were girls married off to Taliban members. “I was not ready but was forced to marry” Shukria, from Balkh province, is being forced to marry after being stopped from attending university. She said her family insists she marries in order to prevent the Taliban from forcing her “to marry one of their members.”
Rukhshana: Four women and three men have been flogged and sent to jail in Daikundi province after the Taliban accused them of fornication. The Taliban provincial court found the seven people guilty of having sexual relations outside of marriage, and gave them various prison sentences ranging from 10 days to one-year imprisonment. Two reliable sources told Rukhshana Media that the court hearing was on Monday January 2. The people are known as Mohammad Paikarzada, Sadruddin, Amir Hussain, Mahtab, Gultaab, Fayeza and Raihana.
Rukhshana: Eleven people, including a woman, have been whipped and sent to jail in Kandahar and Badakhshan provinces after being accused of crimes including adultery, sodomy, and robbery. The Taliban provincial office in Kandahar said in a newsletter on Tuesday that they have flogged nine people in Ahmadshahi Stadium.