Anti-immigration movements in the US and Europe have been saying it for years: The Islamic world is barbaric and backwards, built on archaic ideas that are completely antithetical to western values. Yet, progressive governments and their media allies continue in their attempts to portray these cultures as “the same”, or, as sympathetic.
The historical Islamic justification for child marriage comes from the story in the Hadith of Muhammad’s marriage to a 6-year-old girl named Aisha, which he consummated when she turned age 9. Apologists often claim this is limited to the poor rural backwaters of places like Afghanistan, but it is common in Iran, Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq and even Egypt. And, in many cases these children are sold into marriage in exchange for monetary compensation or property.
In a recent BBC report from journalists in Afghanistan child marriages are examined in dark detail, yet, the BBC seems to place more sympathy on the parents (fathers) selling their daughters for coin while ignoring the grotesque nature of the tradition. In other words, blame the economic circumstances, not the parents doing the selling.
However, this narrative glosses over the fact that child sex slavery is a longstanding problem in Muslim culture, not a new trend spurred on by recent economic distress. The outlet presents the families selling children as sympathetic, suggesting that the children will be sold, likely into a life of sexual abuse, but at least they will still be alive.
No blame is places on the fathers who are either too incompetent or too lazy to secure the basic needs of their own children. And no blame is placed on the culture which normalizes the practice. In fact, the BBC diverts blame to the loss of foreign funding from outside governments and NGOs.
This is a thinly veiled propaganda hit by the BBC. Afghanistan received substantial funding from the US through the now defunct USAID institution under the Biden Administration. USAID dispersed nearly $4 billion to Afghanistan from 2021 to 2025 until it was shut down by Trump and DOGE. The message seems to be “This is Trump’s fault”.
Keep in mind, Biden abruptly pulled all troops and private contractors out of Afghanistan in 2021, allowing the Taliban to retake government power and inflict the oppressive theocratic authoritarianism that leads to the conditions the BBC dramatically outlines. Little girls not being allowed to go to school is a direct result of Sharia Law, which is a direct result of Biden leaving Afghanistan in Taliban hands (along with billions of dollars in US military equipment).
Thus, the only value of girls in the Afghan economy is as slaves for sale. The worst part is that, in many cases, these girls are sold for marriage to relatives. Meaning, they will eventually be forced to bear children through inbreeding.
Only 15 years ago this behavior was widely admonished in the western media. Today, it is shielded with spin in the name of protecting the multicultural agenda.
The most interesting aspect of the BBC report is the way in which they build a narrative of distraction rather than addressing the cultural elephant in the room. Their goal was apparently to showcase the dire effects of foreign funding cuts, but they ended up proving once again why the west should have nothing to do with the third world.
