Afghanistan Family Tries Selling Child as Economic Hardship Looms

A family in Afghanistan’s Balkh province tried selling their child due to extreme poverty following country’s Taliban takeover, news reports said on Saturday.

The two-year-old child was saved after the locals intervened and provided assisted to the family with food and other aid to better their economic situation.

“We held a meeting with the Red Cross for a few days; we will make members of these institutions aware of how to assist us,” said Noorul Hadi Abu Idris, the deputy governor of Balkh, according to Afghanistan’s Tolo News.

The family said that she was forced to try and sell her child because of the extreme poverty.

“I’m in a really difficult situation; I have nothing to eat or use for fuel; I haven’t made any preparations for the winter. I have to sell my daughter and get some items for the winter,” Nasrin, the mother of the child said as she lamented to officials regarding the situation of province.

Together with the economic crisis and deep-rooted patriarchal values, many parents have also accelerated the marriage of teenage daughters who have been mostly confined to their homes since the Taliban stopped their education.

Nasrin said that neither the local government nor any agencies have offered any assistance to her in more than a year.

“I myself went to the authorities two or three times and begged them to put my name on the list in case assistance is offered. They replied that we have put down your name, but so far I have not received any support,” she added.

The news comes following a ban on women from using gyms in the country by the Taliban, in another attempt to cracking down on women’s rights and freedoms. Women are also banned from parks.

The Taliban overran the country last year, seizing power in August 2021. They have banned girls from middle school and high school, despite initial promises to the country, restricted women from most fields of employment, and ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public.

The United Nations recently cautioned that millions of people displaced by conflicts and persecution in Afghanistan and other countries risk “extreme hardship” as winter approaches. The World Food Programme has also raised concerns about the economic crisis in Afghanistan and also the rising unemployment.

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