People attempt to get into Hamid Karazai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan August 16, 2021. Stringer/REUTERS
A 55-year old Afghan man sold his child to an Afghan father who was trying to feed his family.
CNN reports that Parwana Malik was sold for $2,200.
Abdul Malik, a 12-year-old girl, sold his child to make ends met a few years ago.
CNN reported that a father in Afghanistan sold his daughter Parwana Malik (9 years old) to a man for $2200 so he could feed his family.
For years, the family lived in Afghanistan's northwest province and struggled to provide basic necessities like food. CNN reports that the family earns just a few dollars per day. Parwana's 12-year-old sister was sold by her father to help make ends meet a few months back.
This time, the family had to sell another child in order to provide food for their family. CNN reports that Parwana was sold by her parents to a 55 year-old for $2,000.
CNN reported that Parwana's father Abdul is "broken." His wife and he tried to borrow money from family members and begging on the streets, but couldn't come up with enough. He said that he and his wife are eight members of the same family. "I must sell to keep my family members alive."
Saleha, a woman from India, said that she sold her 3-year old daughter for $550. She claimed that she was struggling to support herself financially like the Maliks. Insider readers learned of Saleha's story and offered to pay off her debt.
According to projections from the United Nations development agency, Afghanistan is headed toward "universal poverty" after the Taliban took over the country.
According to Kanni Wignaraja (UNDP's Asia-Pacific Director), the poverty rate in Afghanistan is expected to hover around 97% or 98% within a year.
Wignaraja stated that Afghanistan will be facing universal poverty by the middle next year. "That's where it is headed - 97-98%, no matter how you interpret these projections."
After two decades of trying to eradicate extremists from Afghanistan, President Joe Biden decided to withdraw US troops. The Taliban took over Afghanistan and renamed it the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. This is the name that was used when the Taliban were in power in 1996. After the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the Taliban ruled Afghanistan until 2001.
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Wignaraja stated that Afghanistan saw several development gains after the US removed the Taliban from power in 2001. These included a doubling of the per capita income and an increase of the average years of education.
Afghanistan has made substantial economic gains over the past 20 years, but they are now at risk of collapse due to political instability. Wignaraja stated that Afghanistan is facing "a crush in local banking" due to the Taliban takeover. The pandemic only makes matters worse.
In an attempt to limit the Taliban's resource, the Biden administration froze almost $10 billion of reserves at the country's central banks. Most of this is reported to be held by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Shah Mehrabi, a member of Da Afghanistan Bank's senior board, stated that the move was misdirected and would ultimately harm Afghans more than it hurts the Taliban.
Business Insider has the original article.
