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While the country's pre-Taliban laws criminalised marriage under 15, a new decree set no minimum age at all.
It follows the closure of schools and universities to women and growing restrictions on their mobility.
The new laws have cut women and girls off from education and work, compounding Afghanistan's economic distress amid rising unemployment.
The Heavy Toll of Poverty
Sima's 24-year-old husband is unemployed; he went to Iran seeking work but returned empty-handed after three months.
She wishes she could work, but as a mother of three with responsibilities at home, there is no opportunity to earn or learn a skill.
"Five families live in one compound: my parents, my uncle with his two wives, and my brother with his wife," says Sima, describing her living situation.
"Whenever others have something left over, they give it to us. Most of the time, we are hungry," says Sima, reflecting on her family's poverty.
After the Taliban closed school gates and banned women from most public jobs, Sima's family used her to settle a debt: her father owed his brother 200,000 afghani (about £2,380), and Sima was given to the brother's son in lieu of a bride price.
A UN Development Programme report shows three-quarters of Afghanistan's population, about 28 million people, cannot afford basic needs and more than 80% of households are in debt.
With the rollback of international aid commitments, assistance to the country fell by more than 16% in 2025, closing or restricting hundreds of medical clinics.
