Drug addicted mother forces her daughters into prostitution to buy drugs

HERAT (Pajhwok): Some teenage girls in western Herat province say their drugs addicted mothers have been pushing them into prostitution to buy drugs.

On the relevant issue, Article 11 of the Afghan law on trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants says a human smuggler — “If the perpetrator is the spouse, parent, guardian or custodian of the victim, or a public official, long term imprisonment of not less than ten years”.

Under Clause 2 of the same article, a human smuggler found guilty of raping the victim is imprisoned for more than 12 years in the absence of favorable condition for the implementation of the hudood punishment.

Zarmina, 15 (not her real name) and her mother are both addicted to drugs for sometimes. The girl said when they had no money to buy drugs; her mother forced her into prostitution and buys the drugs.

She told Pajhwok Afghan News reporter that her motherhanded her over to a young man few months back for forced sex against 600 Afghanis and since then she was forced to sleepwith a number of men.

“When stranger touches me; my entire body shakes in fear,” said Zarmina, who is not the only victim but is among a number of girls who claim to have been forced into prostitution by their own mothers.

Marjan, 12 (not her real name), is another teenager who herself is addicted to drugs for sometimes, says it was her mother who made her addict and oftenhanded her over to men for sex by force.

With her innocent face, Marjan said her dependence to drugs also forced her to compromise for exploitative sexual practices with people. “When for the first time a man took me for sex, he tightened a piece of cloth around my mouth and then tied my legs and hands. I felt unconscious due to the pain and when came to senses, I could not move due to weakness,” she recalled.

According to the counternarcotics department of Herat province, 50,000 to 60,000 people are addicted to drugs in Herat; with a 13 percent of them are women.

Pari Jan 45(not her real name), an addicted woman who has been living at Sultan Agha Shrine in Herat City, the provincial capital, she forced her 13-year-old daughter to go with a man against 10,000 Afghanis for three hours, but her daughter went missing for two days. She refused to further comment in this regard.

Abdullah Aziz, advisor to the Herat Youth Council, who is active in rounding up drug addicts, said the increasing number of drug addicts was a huge catastrophe.

While rounding up drug addicts in the city few days back, Aziz said, a drug addicted woman told him that she handed over her daughter to a man for sex for few hours but she had not returned after two days. He said this trend should be stopped.

There are some addicted women who have sold children to get drugs.

AsalBegam35 (not her real name), a woman wearing a socially inappropriate dress, sitting with three men on a roadside said she was addicted to drugs 10years back in Iran. During the period, she sold four of her daughters in Herat Cityand bought drug for herself and her husband.

Syed Abdul Wahid Asemi, director of Hajj and Religious Affairs, termed forced prostitution against Islam and illegitimate and demanded an immediate halt to the trend.

Not only the government, but religious scholars and civil society activistsshould raise awareness about the harms of drugs so they could prevent the un-Islamic act of prostitution and selling children, he said.

Abdul Qader Rahimi, human rights director, confirmed teenage girls were sold for sex by their mothers to buy drugs in Herat. He criticized the government for not taking steps in this regard.

Abdul Wahid Hidayat, a member of the its high Commission ontrafficking in persons and smuggling of migrantssaid, “Our commissions working in provinces report to us in every quarter, but in this regard, we have received no report so far.”

He said if members of their commission faced such incidents, they would addressthem through police and national security organs.

According to him, “We hold technical meetings every other month and also a meeting among high commission is conducted in every two or three months for resolving such issues.”

Governor’s spokesman Farhad Jilani said the growing use of drugs was a matter of huge concern for the local government and a huge challenge for local residents. He said drug addicts had been involved in robberies. Even security institutions have been affected by drug addiction.

Jilani acknowledged drug addicts were in a large number in Herat but said they had received no case or report about prostitution. He assured the local government would take action if such thing existed in the city. 

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