An Afghan mother was forced to sell one of her newborn twins for a mere sum of $104 to be able to feed the other, under the Taliban regime. The country of Afghanistan is facing one of the worst cases of food crisis under the Taliban rule. The 40-year-old woman in question, whose identity is not known, is a resident of Jawzjan province. According to the DailyMail, she sold one of her newborn twins to a childless couple for $104, which she hoped would last at least six months for her family to buy food.
The drought had forced the Afghan woman and her husband to leave their farm and shift to a nearby city earlier this year. Her husband and second-eldest son worked as laborers before the Taliban took over the country in the month of August. But after the take-over, the economy of the country collapsed and the duo was out of work.
The UN has warned that more than half of Afghanistan's population might face starvation this winter in the light of the fact that multiple aid agencies fled the country after the Afghan government collapsed and international aid stopped after the Taliban's take over.
$1 for a day of work
The organization, 'Save the Children' uncovered the story of the said Afghan couple. The organization still runs in the country, distributing whatever food they have to those in need. According to the DailyMail, the woman, while talking to the charity workers, noted that her twins, a boy, and a girl, were born around four or five months ago, shortly after they left their farm due to drought. The woman also explained that all of her children's clothes are second-hand, donated by locals.
She had planned to keep both of her newborns, but providing food for even one of them was proving to be very difficult. Sometimes they would only have bread and milk powder. Her 45-year-old husband, who works as a laborer said that there are only enough jobs for one day of work in five, which earns him $1, which is barely enough for two days' food. The second-eldest son also scours for work in the nearby market but is mostly unsuccessful.
'It was hard'
Seeing the babies' plight, a childless couple offered the woman to take away her baby boy for $104. the woman initially refused but after seeing her babies cry of hunger for several days, she decided that giving one of her babies away was the only way she could afford food to keep others alive. "It was hard. Harder than you can imagine. I gave my child away because of destitution... I was unable to take care of him and I could not afford anything," she said.
According to an estimate by 'Save the Children,' 3.2million young Afghans might face acute malnutrition before the winter's end due to a shortage of food.
