Sign of impending death?
Bin Laden Arabs buy husbands for their women
BY Christina Lamb, Diplomatic Correspondent
(Filed: 04/11/2001)
OSAMA BIN LADEN's Arab bodyguards have begun marrying off their daughters and sisters to Afghan men around Kandahar in the first sign that they do not expect to survive the war.
The secret weddings took place last week in various suburbs and villages around Kandahar and involved hundreds of Arab women being married to locals who agreed to look after them in return for large sums of money.
"The Arabs came at night bringing large numbers of women and suitcases of money," said Abdul Razza, a teacher from Kandahar who witnessed some of the negotiations. "They asked that the people look after their womenfolk and protect them in the war."
The women were completely covered but Mr Razza believes some were as young as 12 and that they brought their mothers with them. Local mullahs carried out the quick marriage ceremonies.
An estimated 2,000 Arabs from Sudan, Egypt, Algeria and the United Arab Emirates among other countries, lived in the Taliban spiritual capital of Kandahar before the war but fled last month before the start of the American bombing campaign. Some managed to escape the country but many are thought to be in Uruzgan, a mountainous province with a network of caves that is the home province of Mullah Omar, the Taliban's spiritual leader.
According to Mr Razza, however, there was no shortage of men agreeing to take the Arab women as wives. "Normally we have to pay for women so they were happy to get brides who came with their own money particularly at the moment with so many shortages and high prices for food and fuel. They also believe it is their Islamic duty to protect these guests."
Many of the Kandahari bridegrooms were already married but Islamic law allows a man to have four wives, a custom that dates specifically from times of war when men had gone off to fight leaving many women with no one to look after them.
Many of the Arabs marrying off their women to Kandaharis are believed to be from bin Laden's elite 055 Brigade, a crack squad of 500 Arabs set up five years ago, who have vowed to fight to the death, in addition to his own personal bodyguards. Over the past two weeks the Americans have stepped up the bombing of caves and tunnels where bin Laden and his guards are thought to be hiding.
"The fact that the Arabs feel they can no longer protect the women is the first sign that they believe the war is not going their way," said a Western diplomat.
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