A picture of an elderly guy seated with a little girl has gone viral, allegedly proving that a 12-year-old girl in Afghanistan was forced into marriage to a 68-year-old man in exchange for a mere $3,500 ransom.
Verified accounts on twitter, including @CrystalBayat37 tweeted “Can’t sleep tonight. It’s 2 am in Utah, but my mind is in Afghanistan where a 12-year-old girl was forcefully married off to a 68-year-old man for a mere $3500 ransom. This isn’t a joke; it’s a horrifying reality. Despite media propaganda claiming security and peace in Afghanistan, incidents like this expose the harsh truth. Would you feel safe and just in a country where your daughter or any female family member could be subjected to such atrocities? Please consider Afghan women also as Ukrainian, Palestinian, or Iranian women and stand with them in their fight for justice! #JusticeForAfghanistan #EndChildMarriage #JusticeForGirls.” on April 17, 2024. The tweet has received an about 824k views on X.
Can't sleep tonight. It's 2 am in Utah, but my mind is in Afghanistan where a 12-year-old girl was forcefully married off to a 68-year-old man for a mere $3500 ransom. This isn't a joke; it's a horrifying reality. Despite media propaganda claiming security and peace in… pic.twitter.com/cBBrC7VVmQ
— Crystal Bayat (@CrystalBayat37) April 17, 2024
Several other accounts, including @ImtiazMadmood made the same claim that the 12-year-old girl was married off to a 68-year-old man for a price of $3500 in 2019. The picture once again became viral during Jan 12, 2020, where it was said that the statement is false that man married the 14-year old girl for money. It said that the picture is of Sri Haji Sadiq with his daughter. The archive can be read from above.
What is the Actual Truth About this Incident? : Fact
The truth is that these assertions are untrue. The picture was disproved earlier and has been accessible online at least since January 2020. According to earlier posts, this picture depicts a cancer patient named Sri Haji Sadiq Jan, who lives in the Kuchlak neighbourhood of Koti, Afghanistan. He is seated next to one of his six daughters. It is unrelated to child marriage. In January 2020, the Taliban were not in power. Afghanistan My Mother posted about this on Facebook and wrote “This white man’s name is Haji Sadiq Jan and he is a resident of Kuchlak area of Koti. And this picture is of his beloved daughter. Haji Sadiq Jan, who has cancer, has six daughters and three sons who are very dear to him I have been seeing this picture for a long time now that it is being uploaded on Facebook. And it is also written that this white man married a 14-year-old girl for a lot of money, but this is completely false. Some of our Afghans like it. , for the comments, the respect of others should be paid two times, first inform yourself and then judge long life Don’t judge” on Jan 12, 2020.
D-Intent’s Fact-Checking Results:
1853
— D-Intent Data (@dintentdata) April 17, 2024
ANALYSIS: Unsubstantiated
FACT: An image that shows an old age man sitting with a young girl has been shared,claiming that a 12-year-old girl was forcefully married off to a 68-year-old man for a mere $3500 ransom in Afghanistan.Fact is that these claims are not true.(1/3) pic.twitter.com/1pyHpQULDc
Intent:
Influencers are circulating old images with false claims to set their propaganda against Afghanistan. An image that shows an old age man sitting with a young girl has been shared,claiming that a 12-year-old girl was forcefully married off to a 68-year-old man for a mere $3500 ransom in Afghanistan. It is a fact that these assertions are untrue. The image was refuted previously and has been accessible on the internet since January 2020, at the latest. In accordance with earlier publications, this picture depicts a cancer patient named Sri Haji Sadiq Jan, who lives in the Kuchlak neighbourhood of Koti, Afghanistan. He is seated next to one of his six daughters. Child marriage is unrelated to this. There was no Taliban rule in January 2020.
Conclusion:
Claim : According to a picture that has gone viral, which depicts an elderly guy seated next to a little child, a 12-year-old girl in Afghanistan was forced into marriage to a 68-year-old man in exchange for a meagre $3,500 ransom.
Fact: Fact is that these claims are not true. The image has been available online at least since January 2020 and was debunked earlier. As per the previous posts, this image shows a man named Sri Haji Sadiq Jan, a patient with cancer, sitting with one of his six daughters; he is a resident of the Kuchlak area of Koti, Afghanistan. It has nothing to do with child marriage. There was no Taliban rule in January 2020.
