KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A family in eastern Nangarhar province has put their two children, both daughters, up for sale to repay debts and provide a living for the rest of the family.
The ten-member family, including eight children, now lives in a dilapidated house in the sixth district of Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province.
Speaking with a KabulNow reporter today, Rahima, the mother of the children, recounted that her husband was injured in a traffic accident, became paralyzed, and is now unable to work and confined to a corner of their home.
She added that they are facing numerous challenges and have borrowed AFN 500,000 ($7,000) for her husband’s treatment, which they are now unable to repay.
She appealed to individuals, charity organizations, and the Taliban authorities to help her family so they do not have to sell their children.
“If the Taliban, organizations, and generous individuals help us, our problems will be resolved. Otherwise, we will be forced to sell our daughters to address our family’s issues and relieve our debt, as we have no other options,” she said.
Meanwhile, several activists in Nangarhar have launched a social media campaign to raise funds for this family.
After the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, the humanitarian situation in the country has significantly deteriorated, making it one of the world’s most critical crises. According to the UN, now over half of its population, require urgent humanitarian assistance.
Additionally, the country has been grappling with numerous natural disasters such as earthquakes, heavy rains, flooding, and landslides in recent times. These events, in addition to human costs, caused significant financial losses for the already impoverished population.
Earlier, Save the Children reported that over 6 million children in Afghanistan, or about 60 percent, will face emergency levels of hunger this year, with nearly 3 million suffering from acute malnutrition.
Meanwhile, humanitarian agencies have grappled with a significant funding shortfall over the past three years. The UN reported earlier that only 25% of its $3.06 billion appeal for Afghanistan this year has been funded so far.
