Hunger rages in Afghanistan as families ‘sell’ young daughters for food

In a disturbing situation in economically impoverished Afghanistan, some families are selling their young daughters to pay for food, medical bills and debt relief.The United Nations says three-quarters of people in Afghanistan are unable to meet basic needs due to widespread unemployment, a struggling health care system and dwindling international aid. An estimated 4.7 million people, or more than 10% of the population, are at risk of famine.Fathers struggling with extreme poverty and unemployment in Afghanistan’s Ghor province say they are being forced to make “impossible choices” as hunger increases across the country, the BBC reports.

“Willing to sell my daughter”

Abdul Rashid Azimi, a resident of the province, said he was considering selling his 7-year-old twin daughters, Roqia and Rohila, because extreme poverty, debt and unemployment left him unable to provide for his family.“I would sell my daughter. I am poor, in debt and helpless,” a tearful Abdul Rashid Azimi told the BBC.“I come home from get off work with chapped lips, hungry and thirsty, distressed and confused. My children come to me and say ‘Daddy, give us some bread’. But what can I give? Where are the jobs?” he added. Abdul, who hugged and kissed Rohilla as he spoke to reporters, said the decision “broke my heart” but described it as the family’s only option for survival.Another father, Saeed Ahmad, said he was forced to sell his five-year-old daughter Shaiqa to a relative after he could not afford the medical care she needed after his five-year-old daughter Shaiqa suffered from appendicitis and a cyst in her liver.“I had no money to pay for medical expenses. So I sold my daughter to relatives,” the BBC quoted him as saying.“If I had taken the whole money, he would have taken her away. So I told him, give me enough money for treatment now and in five years you can give me the rest of the money and then you can take her away. She will become his daughter-in-law,” he added. Saeed said Shaiqa’s surgery was paid for through a $200,000 arrangement in Afghanistan under which she would eventually marry into a relative’s family. He initially accepted only enough to cover the cost of the surgery, deferring the rest so his daughter could stay with him for a few more years.Two years ago, his family, like millions of Afghans, received food aid, including flour, cooking oil, lentils and nutritional supplements for children. But deep cuts in international aid, especially after the United States cut nearly all aid to Afghanistan and other major donors reduced support, have left families without a basic lifeline.

Why did the daughter sell her son?

Families mainly sell daughters rather than sons because boys are traditionally seen as future earners who can support the family financially. In Afghanistan, this preference became even more pronounced as the Taliban restricted educational and employment opportunities for women and girls. There is also a time-honored custom of the groom’s family giving money or gifts to the bride’s family during the wedding, making the daughter a source of direct financial aid for poor families facing hunger, debt and medical crises.The practice of underage marriage remains common in Afghanistan and has reportedly increased since the Taliban banned girls from education. Experts say girls are often targeted for trafficking as restrictions on women’s education and employment exacerbate gender inequality, while the Taliban’s policies targeting women have led international donors to withdraw aid, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.