Story perspectives

Ghor Families Sell Daughters for Survival Amid Famine Crisis

5/22/2026

Summary

Families Sell Daughters

In Ghor province, families sell daughters for cash to fund treatment and food.
Saeed Ahmad sold his five-year-old daughter Shaiqa for 200,000 Afghanis ($3,200) for surgery, while Abdul Rashid Azimi said he would sell a seven-year-old twin to feed his family four years.
United Nations (UN) says three-quarters lack basic needs, 4.7 million are near famine and deaths are 10 %, as Taliban spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat says aid must not be politicised.

Summary

Paola Diana Condemns

Phil Craig, former BBC writer, called the story “the lowest point” and demanded firings.
Andy Jones, UK broadcaster, highlighted Afghanistan’s high rape rates, lack of a consent age and child brides.
Paola Diana, women’s-rights activist, called the coverage morally bankrupt and urged fathers who sell daughters to “die of hunger.”
A community note on X warned the BBC post framed fathers sympathetically, downplayed the girls’ exploitation and reflected cultural relativism.

History

Historical Context

When the Taliban captured Kabul in September 1996 they imposed a strict Sharia regime that barred women from school and work; in 1998 the group killed 11 Iranian diplomats, prompting international condemnation. Decades later BBC reporter Phil Craig denounced the sale of girls in Ghor province, a stark reminder of that earlier gender oppression.

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Families Sell Daughters

In Ghor province, families sell daughters for cash to fund treatment and food.
Saeed Ahmad sold his five-year-old daughter Shaiqa for 200,000 Afghanis ($3,200) for surgery, while Abdul Rashid Azimi said he would sell a seven-year-old twin to feed his family four years.
United Nations (UN) says three-quarters lack basic needs, 4.7 million are near famine and deaths are 10 %, as Taliban spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat says aid must not be politicised.

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