Afghan refugee girls enter U.S. with older men as husbands

September 4, 2021 Carley Joanou US 0

In this Aug. 31 , 2021, photo provided by the U.S. Army, Afghan children take a piece of chalk at a children's activity event held by non-governmental charities at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. (Spc. Rhianna Ballenger/U.S. Army via AP)

In this photo provided by the U.S. Army, Afghan children take a piece of chalk at a children’s activity event held by non-governmental charities at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. (Spc. Rhianna Ballenger/U.S. Army via AP)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 1:30 PM PT – Saturday, September 4, 2021

Young girls from Afghanistan have arrived in the United States and United Arab Emirates with much older men claiming to be their husbands. In recent days, a U.S. intake center in Wisconsin has reported incidents of men entering the country with young girls they claimed to authorities to be their wives.

Females were reportedly forced into marriages upon arrival at the airport in Kabul in order to flee the Taliban takeover. Families were acting out in desperation, with some allegedly paying men to marry or pose as husbands of these women and girls.

In Abu Dhabi, workers have reported incidents of young girls being raped by older men they were forced to marry in order to leave Afghanistan. The girls sought counsel from local officials at the Humanitarian City on how to take action against the sexual assault.

In addition, intake staff at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin have reported multiple polygamous families entering the U.S. Some of the refugee men at the Army base claimed to have more than one wife.

According to Associated Press, the U.S. State Department has called on various agencies for direction on how to handle the cases.