Afghanistan: man arrested accused of selling 130 women

The Taliban arrested a man accused of having sold more than a hundred women into servitude in northern Afghanistan, after making them believe that they would marry rich men, police sources indicated.

The man was arrested Monday night in the northern province of Jawzjan, Taliban provincial police chief Damullah Seraj told reporters.

“We are at the beginning of the investigation. We hope to find out more later, ”said Seraj.

Mohammad Sardar Mubariz, a local police officer, told AFP that the man was targeting poor women desperate to improve their standard of living.

He promised to find them a husband capable of supporting them, and then sent them to another province where they were practically sold as slaves.

The individual is accused of having trafficked like this with some 130 women.

Rising poverty is a major challenge for the Taliban government, in power since August. The new regime tries to contain crime, with a series of robberies and kidnappings recently registered in the big cities.