“My sister never wanted to enter into this forced marriage”

“About a year ago, one afternoon, my mother and I were not at home and my little sister, Mahboba, wanted to fix the water pipe behind our house. So, she asked Omid, our neighbour’s son, for help, but she didn’t know that asking him for help would lead to many problems for her. 

When I returned home, Mahboba was deeply worried. The Taliban had taken Omid with them and whenever informants saw Omid and Mahboba together, they reported it. Mahboba found herself under endless questioning from all sides, but she just smiled and said: ‘What have I done to deserve all this criticism?’ 

 Our local councillor advised Mahboba: ‘If the Taliban come, tell them that Omid wanted to take you by force.’ But my sister refused and said, ‘I'm not lying,’ with a smile on her face. Our uncle was furious and shouted, ‘You are still smiling, despite everything! If the Taliban take you, our honour will be destroyed.’ 

My uncle organized a gathering at our house. Mahboba and I were in our room, and she said: ‘Sister, I’m still too young to die.’ I asked: ‘What are you talking about? Are you going crazy?’ She laughed loudly and said, ‘Everyone's worried about their honour; not me.’ Her frustration broke, and tears began to flow. 

Mahboba had often expressed her desire to become a lawyer and advocate for women’s rights. She was in the tenth grade when the doors of schools were shut for girls.  

While she was trimming her hair, she asked me: ‘Is my hair beautiful?’ I responded, ‘Yes.’ And she said: ‘You know, I want to cut my hair short and dye it like European girls and throw it away.’  

As night fell, Mahboba said: ‘You’re just worried about our mother. I don’t want her to suffer because of me.’ I went to get tea for the local councillor.  

They took her body to the mortuary to determine if she had had sexual relations with Omid before her death. However, the Taliban prevented the body from being taken to the forensics department, and the case was closed on the spot. 

That night, the radio announced, ‘A 20-year-old girl committed suicide due to family problems’.”