Afghan parents and their Children
FeaturedHighlightTrending StoryWorld News

Poverty-stricken Afghan parents sell their children

144

 

Amid grinding poverty, some desperate Afghan parents are now forced to sell their children to deal with the scourge, according to reports.

A house cleaner in western Afghanistan named Saleha, for example, sold her three-year-old daughter to a man to whom she owed a $550 debt. Saleha, 40, receives 70 cents a day from her job and her husband doesn’t work.

“If life continues to be this awful, I will kill my children and myself. I don’t even know what we will eat tonight,’’ she said.

“I will try to find money to save my daughter’s life,” the Wall Street Journal quotes her husband, Abdul Wahab, as saying.

Khalid Ahmad, the lender, said he had to accept the 3-year-old girl to settle the debt.

“I also don’t have money. They haven’t paid me back,” he said. “So there is no option but taking the daughter.”

Last month, the United Nations’ development agency said Afghanistan is heading toward “universal poverty” following the Taliban’s swift takeover of the country.

Within a year, the poverty rate in Afghanistan will hover at a whopping 97% or 98%, said Kanni Wignaraja, UNDP’s Asia-Pacific Director.

“Afghanistan pretty much faces universal poverty by the middle of next year,” Wignaraja said. “That’s where we’re heading — it’s 97-98% no matter how you work these projections.”

The Taliban took over Afghanistan following President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw US troops from the region after two decades spent trying to rid the country of extremists. In its takeover, the Taliban renamed the country the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, reverting back to the same name used during the last time the regime held power, in 1996. The regime remained in power until 2001, after the US invaded Afghanistan.

After the US ousted the Taliban from power in 2001, Afghanistan made several developmental gains including the doubling of per capita income and an increase in the average number of years of education, Wignaraja said.

Over the past two decades, Afghanistan made significant economic gains that are now in danger of collapsing because of political instability. Afghanistan faces “a crush on local banking” because of the Taliban takeover, Wignaraja said. That instability is only worsened by the pandemic.

The Biden administration, in an effort to limit the Taliban’s resources, froze nearly $10 billion in reserves in the country’s central bank — most of which is reportedly held by the Federal Reserve Bank in New York.

The move has been criticized as misdirected and will ultimately hurt Afghans more than the Taliban, Shah Mehrabi, a senior board member of Da Afghanistan Bank, said.

 

Leave a comment

Related Articles

Just in: FCT court discharges, acquits ex-AGF Adoke in OPL 245 fraud charge

The FCT High Court in Jabi, Abuja, on Thursday dismissed the charges...

63-year-old woman, teenage girl, two others killed in U.S. stabbing spree

A man armed with a knife went on a stabbing spree in...

FG to collect only nine types of taxes, says FIRS chairman

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) says in line with the presidential...

After 14 days in detention, First News editor, Segun Olatunji, breathes air of freedom

The Editor of FirstNews, a digital newspaper, Segun Olatunji, on Thursday regained...

N3trn budget padding: Sen. Ningi threatens legal action if suspension is not lifted in seven days

Abdul Ningi, the senator representing Bauchi Central, has given Senate President Godswill...

Eniola Ajao apologizes over “AJAKAJU” movie premiere controversy

Actress Eniola Ajao has issued an apology to the public in the...

Ex-Presidential media aide, Akande criticises LP’s leadership, urges party’s alignment with national interest

Mr. Laolu Akande, a former presidential assistant, has expressed dissatisfaction with the...

Economic hardship: Ogun Govt. begins sale of rice at 50 percent price reduction to workers, public

Ogun Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has announced that his administration will start selling...

FG committed to steel industry revitalization to drive infrastructural development, says Industry Minister, Dr Uzoka-Anite

The Federal Government is committed to industry rehabilitation, with a focus on...

Easter: FG declares Friday, March 29, Monday, April 1 public holidays

The Federal Government has declared Friday, March 29, and Monday, April 1,...

Fake, unwholesome products: NAFDAC seals 10 bakeries, 8 table water factories in Rivers

The National Agency for Food and Drug Control (NAFDAC) has shut down...

Climate change, food security: AfDB approves $50 million for Yobe State

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has granted a $50 million loan...

Ex Guinea-Bissau President’s Son Jailed in U.S. for Drug Trafficking

Malam Bacai Sanha Jr, the son of a former president of Guinea-Bissau,...

Togo dumps presidential system for parliamentary, adopts new constitution

Togolese lawmakers adopted a new constitution on Monday, moving the West African...

Few weeks to party primary, leading Ondo APC governorship aspirant, Dr. Paul Akintelure, passes away

Dr. Paul Akintelure, a prominent candidate for governorship in Ondo State who...

IPOB, bandits using betting sites, crowdsourcing to finance terrorism – NFIU

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), bandits, and other terror organizations are...

EU launches €9m energy projects in Nigeria

The European Union (EU) has unveiled two new initiatives worth €9 million...

Don’t sell dollar above N1,269, CBN orders Bureau de Change

As part of measures to strengthen the naira against the dollar, the...

U.S. state bars under-15 children from having social media accounts

Florida State Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill prohibiting children younger...

Anguishes, deprivations as Lagos Govt. house demolition squad moves from Lekki to Ebutte Meta

Cries of anguish and deprivation followed the demolition of Ifesowapo, Ifedapo, Otto/Ilogbo,...