Family sells baby girl for $500 in Afghanistan to make ends meet

A desperate family of four were forced to sell their baby girl for $500 as their other three children went hungry.

These are terribly hard times in Afghanistan, with the country deeply affected by war. Consequently, this has caused enormous economic hardship where families are selling their children for just $500 to find some way to make ends meet.

The Taliban’s takeover has put an end to the foreign funds that propped up the weakening Afghan economy and left it on the brink of a collapse.

A mother is quoted as saying that she sold her daughter for $500 to pay for food. The girl was then sold to a family with ten children. The mother believes that they can provide a better life for her child in these desperate circumstances, but what about the girl? Will she be happy in this new home?

The man paid $250 upfront for expenses, and the rest is to be provided when he collects the baby ‘once she can walk’.

“My other children were dying of hunger so we had to sell my daughter. I am sad. She is my child. I wish I didn’t have to sell my daughter,” the mother told the BBC.   

(With inputs from agencies)