Afghanistan: People forced to sell daughters due to hunger, UN warns of the food crisis

Posted on 27th Oct 2021 by rohit kumar

Afghanistan is facing the worst hunger crisis ever. Till now people were somehow surviving by selling their property and animals to buy food, but the country's plight and drought have now forced them to sell even children to feed their stomachs. According to international media reports, there are many parents like Fahima who have been forced to sell their daughters due to the worsening situation in Afghanistan due to Taliban rule, drought, and corona.

 

 

People suffering from hunger are selling lap girls up to eight to ten years old for marriage. On Monday itself, the World Food Program warned that more than half of Afghanistan's population, or about 25 million people, would suffer severe hunger from November next month.

 

 

child marriages increased

Child marriage has been practiced in Afghanistan for centuries, but violence and poverty in the stressed country have forced many families to sell off girls already in marriage so that they can spend a few days on their food and drink. Can arrange.

 

people drown in grief and shame

According to international media reports, people are immersed in shame and grief in the city of Kala-i-Nau, the capital of the western province of Badghis, which is one of the worst affected areas by the drought. Leaders of the displaced people's camp say that the number of young girls marrying started to rise during the 2018 famine and this year it has increased again due to the lack of rain.

 

Maulvi Abdul Sattar, the Taliban's interim governor in Badghis province, said in a statement that "these child marriages are taking place because of economic problems." At the same time, there are reports of increasing child marriages in the outlying camps of the drought-affected Badgi. Even outside the country's third-largest city, Herat, child marriages are causing many parents to harden their hearts.

 

Claims to start trying to save people

The challenges faced by people facing severe hunger have increased as the crisis of drought looms large for those already struggling to recover from a 20-year civil war. They have nothing left to eat now. In the west of the country, thousands of poor families have already sold everything they owned and fled in search of shelter and help in makeshift camps in major cities. Asked about the humanitarian crisis, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told an international agency on Sunday: "We are trying to help and help our people out of the current situation. Global humanitarian aid also started reaching us." Is.

 

What is the warning of the World Food Program?

David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Program (WFP), said in a statement that, "This winter, millions of Afghans will be forced into starvation or emigration. According to him, this crisis is bigger than Yemen or Syria and Congo's food insecurity emergency." "Afghanistan is facing one of the world's worst humanitarian crises right now, as food security has completely collapsed," Beasley said in his statement. If you still don't do anything then a big disaster can happen.

 

Food crisis for one in two Afghans

According to a statement issued by the WFP and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), one in two Afghans is facing a "crisis" or "emergency" shortage of food. The FAO has sought an immediate 11.4 million dollars for Afghanistan and a further $200 million for the 2022 agricultural season.

 

In August, the Taliban occupied Kabul following the withdrawal of American troops and announced the formation of an interim government and restoration of stability. But even after the formation of the government, the Taliban still face a severe economic crisis due to many international sanctions and attacks by Daesh terrorist group and climate change. Whereas the Taliban regime has completely rocked an already weak economy as the country was heavily dependent on foreign aid. Western countries stopped aid to him and the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have also stopped payments.