'Please don't beat her': Horrific moment Afghan father sells nine-year-old daughter as 'bride' for $3000

Parwana had dreams of being a teacher. Image / CNN

As nine-year-old Parwana Malik is sold to an older man with a thick white beard to be his "bride", her father asks, "please don't beat her".

"This is your bride," Abdul Malik says to the buyer, named Qorban, who hands over 200,000 Afghanis – around $3000 – in the form of sheep, land and cash.

"Please take care of her — you are responsible for her now, please don't beat her."

Qorban, who says he is 55, agrees and then grips the girl's arm as he leads her outside.

As she's walked away from the house to the waiting car, still clinging to her mother, she drags her feet and tries to pull away.

The little girl had dreams of being a teacher, and said she had hoped to change her parents' minds – but her pleas were ignored.

The moment Parwana Malik, 9, is sold as a child bride. Image / CNN

The shocking scenes were captured on camera by CNN, which reports that there has been a rise in desperate Afghan families selling their daughters since the Taliban's takeover of the country on August 15.

Parwana's family have been living in a refugee camp in the northwestern Badghis province for four years, surviving on humanitarian aid and menial work.

Parwana is led away to a waiting car by Qorban, 55. Image / CNN

But international assistance has dried up since the Taliban took power, and the family say they are struggling to afford basic necessities like food.

Her father told the broadcaster he tried to avoid selling her, and had searched unsuccessfully for work.

"We are eight family members," Malik told CNN. "I have to sell to keep other family members alive."

The family said they had no choice. Image / CNN

He already sold Parwana's 12-year-old sister several months ago.

Mr Malik said he was "broken" with guilt, shame and worry and couldn't sleep before the sale.

Qorban didn't describe the sale as a marriage, telling CNN he already had a wife who would look after the girl.

"[Parwana] was cheap, and her father was very poor and he needs money," Qorban said.

Parwana had dreams of being a teacher. Image / CNN

"She will be working in my home. I won't beat her. I will treat her like a family member. I will be kind."

Marrying off children under 15 is illegal in Afghanistan, but the practice is widespread and has been on the rise since August.

The United Nations says nearly 677,000 people have been internally displaced due to this year's fighting.

"It's absolutely cataclysmic," Heather Barr, associate director of the women's rights division at Human Rights Watch, told CNN.

"We don't have months or weeks to stem this emergency … we are in the emergency already."