According to a new and shocking BBC report, in Ghor province, due to unemployment, poverty, and severe economic hardship, many Afghan families have been forced to make painful and difficult decisions in order to survive, including selling their children.
Saeed Ahmad, a resident of Ghor, said he could not afford the cost of surgery for his five-year-old daughter, “Shayeqa.” As a result, he was forced to sell her to one of his relatives for 200,000 Afghanis in order to save her life.
Another impoverished father, Abdul Rashid Azimi, said in tears that because of extreme poverty and debt, he is prepared to sell his seven-year-old twin daughters so he can provide food for his other children.
According to the report, hunger and malnutrition in Ghor have worsened more than ever before, and child mortality has increased dramatically. In local cemeteries, the number of small graves belonging to children is reportedly several times higher than those of adults.
Healthcare workers at the Chaghcharan provincial hospital say that due to a severe lack of facilities, sometimes up to three newborn babies die in a single day. According to them, in some hospital beds, two malnourished children are placed together.
The United Nations has also warned that three out of every four people in Afghanistan are unable to meet their most basic food needs.
Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson for the Taliban, blamed the previous republican government for the situation. However, aid organizations say that restrictions on women and the reduction of international assistance are among the main causes of the worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
