(CNN) US officials processing Afghan refugees abroad recently alerted the State Department to instances in which women and girls were forced into marriage or arrived with male partners posing as their husbands to be eligible for evacuation and escape the Taliban, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The incidents described by sources to CNN were revealed while Afghans were at a transit hub abroad. They underscore the desperation among Afghans to flee the country after the Taliban takeover — and the fear of what their rule might mean for women and girls.
It’s unclear how widespread the issue is, but it prompted enough concern for US diplomats in the United Arab Emirates to send a cable.
