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 work. The likelihood of success, however, is low.
Juma Khan, 45, has found just three days of work in the past six weeks, 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.
In Afghanistan today, three in four people cannot meet their basic needs, according to the United Nations. Unemployment is rampant, healthcare is struggling, and aid that provided essentials for millions has dwindled significantly.
In the desperate quest for survival, many fathers, including Abdul Rashid Azimi, are contemplating or have already taken the heartbreaking step of selling their daughters. Abdul, in tears, shares, I'm willing to sell my daughters. I'm poor, in debt and helpless. I come home from work, hungry and distressed. My children come to me saying, 'Baba, give us some bread'. What can I give? Where is the work?
Abdul feels that selling one daughter could sustain the rest of the family for at least four years. The cultural context in Afghanistan complicates these painful decisions, with daughters seen as less valuable in terms of future income compared to sons, who are regarded as future breadwinners.
Many families are resorting to extreme measures. Saeed Ahmad, for instance, sold his five-year-old daughter, Shaiqa, after he could not afford her medical treatment. If I had money, I would never have taken this decision, he says, reflecting the desperation that drives these heartbreaking choices.
The continuity of underage marriages exacerbates the situation as parents resort to marrying off their daughters in exchange for financial relief. As the cycle of poverty deepens, many wonder how long they can endure the unbearable weight of such decisions amidst a collapsing society.
