Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Islamic values in Afghanistan

Selling children to survive: Afghan fathers forced to make impossible choices

Imogen Anderson/BBC Abdul Rashid Azimi  sits on the floor looking visibly sad with three of his children. Imogen Anderson/BBC
Abdul Rashid Azimi says he is prepared to sell one of his daughters to feed the others

As dawn breaks, hundreds of men gather at a dusty square in Chaghcharan, the capital of Ghor province in Afghanistan.

They line the roadside with weary faces, hoping someone will come along offering any work. It will determine whether their families eat that day.

The likelihood of success, however, is low.

Juma Khan, 45, has found just three days of work in the past six weeks that paid between 150 to 200 Afghani ($2.35-$3.13; £1.76-£2.34) per day.

"My children went to bed hungry three nights in a row. My wife was crying, so were my children. So I begged a neighbour for some money to buy flour," he says.

"I live in fear that my children will die of hunger."

His story is in no way unique.

Warning: This article contains distressing details

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