Starving Afghan Mom Sells Baby For $104 To Feed Her 8 Other Children

The United Nations has warned that around 22 million Afghans will face food shortages in the winter months as the country faces an economic crisis aggravated by the Taliban takeover in August

An Afghan mother had to sell one of her twin babies so that she could feed her 10-member family amid a worsening food crisis in the Taliban-ruled country. This comes as more families are resorting to extreme measures like marrying off young girls to feed their children.

The desperate mom, identified as Bibi, sold her baby to a childless couple who paid her $104, reported Save the Children, an international non-profit organization.

The report added that the 40-year-old woman, who recently gave birth to a baby girl and boy, had no choice but to give one of them up so that she would get enough money to feed her other eight children. Her husband Mohammad, 45, supported her decision.

"We have nothing, so how could I take care of them (both)?" Bibi said. "I suffered from having to split them up. It was a very difficult [decision], more than you could imagine. It was especially difficult to give the baby away because of poverty."

Bibi's husband and one of their sons, who worked as farm laborers, were displaced from their farm about seven months ago due to prolonged drought. They had to flee to a nearby city.

Mohammed is mostly without a job since the Taliban takeover. And, even when he does, a full day's wage does not even cover two days of expenses for his family. The couple's son, 12-year-old Hamdast, works in a local market pushing carts that carry people's personal belongings.

"We need help, we are hungry and poor," said Mohammad. "There are no work opportunities in Afghanistan. We have children. We need flour and oil the most, which we don't have. It's also good to have firewood. I could not afford to buy meat in the last two or three months. We only have bread for the children which is not always available."

The Save the Children report said 14 million children are expected to go hungry this winter, and more than 97% of the population will plunge into poverty by mid-2022. An estimated 3.2 million children under the age of five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition by the end of the year.

Another woman, identified as Fathima, is also facing pressure to sell one of her babies due to poverty. She says she is being forced by her family to sell her 18-month-old twin daughter Ara.

"My son and my daughter cried all last night because they were hungry. We have nothing in my house. We have no food, no flour, we have nothing," said Fatima. "My husband doesn't send us money. (He says) 'let her die.' Everyone was telling me, 'We will buy her,' but I didn't give her up. I have lots of hope for my children to be healthy in the future."