Selling Children to Survive: Afghan Fathers Forced to Make Impossible Choices

{snip}

In Afghanistan today, a staggering three in four people cannot meet their basic needs, according to the United Nations. Unemployment is rife, healthcare struggling and the aid that once provided the basics for millions has dwindled to a fraction of what it once was.

The country is now facing record levels of hunger, with 4.7 million – more than a tenth of Afghanistan’s population – estimated to be one step away from famine.

Ghor is one of the worst-affected provinces.

The men here are desperate.

{snip}

When a local bakery near the square opens up, the owner distributes stale bread among the crowd. Within seconds, the loaves have been pulled apart, half a dozen men clutching onto precious pieces.

Suddenly another scrum occurs. A man on a motorcycle comes by wanting to hire one labourer to carry bricks. Dozens of men throw themselves at him.

In the two hours we were there, only three men got hired.

In the communities nearby – bare homes scattered over barren, brown hills, set against the snowy peaks of the Siah Koh mountain range – the devastating impact of unemployment is clear.

Abdul Rashid Azimi takes us into his home and brings out two of his children – seven-year-old twins Roqia and Rohila. He holds them close, eager to explain why he’s making unbearable choices.

“I’m willing to sell my daughters,” he weeps. “I’m poor, in debt and helpless.

“I come home from work with parched lips, hungry, thirsty, distressed and confused. My children come to me saying ‘Baba, give us some bread’. But what can I give? Where is the work?”

Abdul tells us he is willing to sell his girls for marriage, or for domestic work. “If I sell one daughter, I could feed the rest of my children for at least four years,” he says.

He hugs Rohila, kissing her as he cries. “It breaks my heart, but it’s the only way.”

{snip}

The choice to sell daughters over sons, is because culturally sons are widely seen as future breadwinners, and here in Afghanistan, with the Taliban’s restrictions on education and work for women and girls, it is even more pronounced.

Additionally, there is a tradition in which a marital gift is given to the family of the girl from the family of the boy during marriage.

Two of Abdul and Kayhan’s teenage sons work polishing shoes in the town centre. Another collects rubbish, which Kayhan uses as fuel for cooking.

Saeed Ahmad tells us he has already been forced to sell his five-year-old daughter, Shaiqa, after she got appendicitis and a cyst in her liver.

{snip}

Shaiqa puts her tiny arms around his neck. Their close bond is evident, but in five years, when she is just 10, she will have to leave and go to the relative’s home to marry one of his sons.

{snip}

The practice of underage marriage remains widespread in Afghanistan and is increasing due to the Taliban government’s bar on education for girls.

Just two years ago, Saeed was getting some help.

Back then, he and his family – like millions of other Afghans – received food aid: flour, cooking oil, lentils and supplements for children.

But massive cuts in aid over the past few years have deprived a large majority of this life-saving assistance.

The US – once the top donor to Afghanistan – cut nearly all aid to the country last year. Many other key donors have also significantly reduced contributions, including the UK. Current UN figures show that the aid received so far this year is 70% lower than in 2025.

Severe drought – which has affected more than half the provinces in the country – is compounding problems.

{snip}

The Taliban government, which seized power in 2021, also places blame at the door of Afghanistan’s previous administration – forced out as foreign forces withdrew from the country.

{snip}