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Known only by the name Gulnaz (left), the woman was only 16-years-old when she fell pregnant with Smile (middle) - the child of her rapist Asadullah (right)
Afghanistan, April 8, 2015
Afghan Victim Forced to MARRY Attacker who impregnated her to Avoid Prison
Original source
An Afghan woman who was forced to marry her rapist and have his baby has revealed how she gave up all of her hopes and dreams to 'buy' her daughter's future.
Known only by the name Gulnaz, the Kabul-based woman was only 16-years-old when she fell pregnant with the child of her depraved attacker Asadullah - who is also married to her cousin.
Even though a rape led to her pregnancy, Gulnaz's brothers insisted she would not be allowed to return to her 'shamed' family as she was unmarried and a Kabul court sentenced her to two years in prison for 'adultery by force', later increased to 12 years following an appeal.
The only hope of a reduced sentence was to marry Asadullah, which she did in early 2013. Now she is pregnant with his third child but insists she only agreed to marry her rapist so that her first daughter - named Smile - could live a shame-free life in the Afghan capital's 'traditional' society.
'I didn't want to ruin the life of my daughter or leave myself helpless so I agreed to marry him,' she said.
'We are traditional people. When we get a bad name, we prefer death to living with that name in society,' Gulnaz added, reportedly refusing to look her husband in the eye during the interview.
Asadullah - who was jailed for the rape but subsequently had sentence reduced - appears totally remorseless about his crime.
He insists that by agreeing to marry her, he actually 'rescued' Gulnaz.
'If I hadn't married her according to our traditions, she couldn't have lived back in society,' he said.
'Her brothers didn't want to accept her back. Now, she doesn't have any of those problems,' he added.
Asadullah is still married to his first wife - Gulnaz's first cousin - with whom he has five children.
In total seven children and three adults live in the family house.
Gulnaz was found guilty of 'adultery by force' following the brutal attack in 2008.
When the case came to court Gulnaz was sentenced to two years in jail, which was later increased to 12 years on appeal.
A first release offer, which she eventually agreed to, stipulated she must marry her attacker.
However her sentence was then cut to three years after a third appeal, and, according to reports at the time, the requirement for her to marry the man, who himself was jailed for seven years, was dropped.
Gulnaz gave birth to her daughter in the Badam Bagh women's jail in Kabul before then President Hamid Karzai took the highly unusual step of freeing her with no pre-conditions in December 2011.
Released from prison, Gulnaz faced a life of isolation and poverty as mothers without husbands are shunned by their communities and their own families and become social outcasts.
Although there was no longer a legal obligation for her to so, Gulnaz later approached the rapist's family to arrange the terms of marriage and give Smile the best chance of a normal life.
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