It is a harrowing Tale of Two Fathers.
One kills the man who allegedly sold his underage daughter to a sex ring, another sells his underage daughter to a middle-aged man because he has no food to eat.
John Eisenman, from Seattle, allegedly killed the 19-year-old boyfriend of his daughter after discovering he had sold her to a sex trafficking organisation.
While in no way condoning violence or murder, it does at least make sense that a father would react with absolute fury upon hearing of something like this.
But in Afghanistan we have fathers selling their own daughters to middle-aged men.
“She is your bride, please don’t beat her. You are responsible for her now,” said Abdul Malik to the man who bought his little girl.
Sorry, Daddy, but you didn’t do a very good job when you were responsible for her yourself, what hope is there for her now?
It doesn’t matter how many times I read this story about Parwana, her pretty face peering out warily from under her headscarf, it still brings tears to my eyes.
I also feel intense rage against the man who married her and against a society that thinks it’s okay to do this.
I’ve tried not to judge the father too harshly. With eight family members to feed and Afghanistan teetering on the brink of collapse at the hands of the Taliban he, and others like him, are utterly destitute and don’t make the decision lightly.
But really, what kind of father would do such a thing?
Not a caring, loving one for sure.
He had already sold Parwana’s 12-year-old sister a few months ago but the money ran out- as it will do again - so whom will he sell next?
Why is it always the females in these societies who have to pay the heaviest price?
I remember my father writing about his time in post-Partition Bangladesh and how they had escaped from slaughter in India. Dozens and dozens of people arrived with only the rags on their backs at a dilapidated former mansion, now in ruins.
One of them was a beautiful little six-year-old girl whose mother was a widow. A middle-aged man took a shine to her, helping her mother with food and she thought he would marry her and look after them both.
Of course not, his evil desire was for the little girl and the destitute woman just had no choice but to let him have her as his bride so that at least the child would not starve to death.
But it was a different time. Back then there was no media spotlight or campaign to highlight the atrocities and the lengths that desperate people were having to go through in order to survive.
How can little girls still be going through this same nightmare?
In pre-Islamic Arabia baby girls were so reviled that it was common for newborns to be buried alive.
The advent of Islam ensured that this heinous practice was wiped out. Indeed, the religion specifically mentions that fathers who are gentle and caring with their daughters are assured of a place in Paradise.
So why are these Muslim men still sending their own daughters to Hell?
