HERAT, Afghanistan As dry months turned to parched years, Fatemeh watched the crops in her northwestern Afghan province of Badghis wither and her cattle die of thirst. Hunger turned to desperation, and eighteen months ago, her farming family begged a wealthy man for a loan to get them through the worst drought Afghanistan had seen in decades. He obliged, with $1,250 worth of sheep, rice, and flour.

When rains returned in spring, so did the man, this time demanding repayment. But there hadn’t yet been a profitable harvest. “Give me your daughter,” he said. He wanted shy, four-year-old Fariba as a wife for his son.

“She would have died from sorrow,” says Fatemeh, glancing at Fariba, her wide, brown eyes outlined with kohl.

And so