One widow and three forced marriages

Layla, a 42-year-old Afghan woman, recounts the impact of being married three times against her wishes.

"Nobody in my family asks how I am"

I am a housewife and live in Tarkhar province in northern Afghanistan.

I was married off by my parents when I was 13 years old. I was still in school then, and had to drop out to get married.

My father was very poor so he married me off to a local businessman and took some money from him. After marriage I couldn't continue my studies because my husband did not allow it.

A year later when I was 14 years old I became a mother. Four years later, when I was 18, my husband was killed in the civil war. I had four children in the four years of my marriage.

I returned to my parents' home with my four children. But my father again forced me to marry a soldier and took some money from him. My second husband died after a month of our marriage in the war. I had one child by him, who was born after my second husband died.

I was driven out of my second husband's home with my five children. I returned to my parents' home, but was given a frosty reception. My mother, sister and brother behaved very badly with me and my children.

I had to work at small jobs to earn money for my children - I washed laundry for a living for some time. Around that time, my first husband's father arrived at my home, and took away my four children from my first husband.

First I became a widow, and then I lost my children. It was a very painful life.

'Meagre living'

During the civil war, a mujahideen leader wanted to marry me, but my father did not approve of the match. He said he would not marry me off to any soldier or warlord.

A few nights later some armed men came out to our house and threatened my father and brother with dire consequences if they didn't give me away in marriage.

So I was forced into a marriage for the third time.

This marriage did not last very long either - my third husband was executed during the strife. I had five children by my third husband.

Three forced marriages and 10 years later, I live with six of my 10 children.

Two of my girls are married, and two of them are living with my first husband's relatives.

I sweep floors and wash laundry to make a meagre living.

Nobody in my family asks how I am.

I don't even know where my husbands' families live, and how my relatives are doing.

Layla spoke to Tabasum Wolayat of the BBC's Uzbek Service based in Kabul.