Extreme poverty forces Afghan parents to sell children

It has been reported by the Integrated Regional Information Network that the recent sale of three Afghan girls in separate incidents by parents blaming severe poverty has led to concern for the safety of poor children in Afghanistan and the inadequate legal mechanisms available to address these types of incidents

Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has expressed alarm over the sale of the children. “We are shocked over these cases,” Hangama Anwary, AIHRC’s commissioner of the rights of children told IRIN in Kabul. “They pose a serious warning about a possible catastrophe which may affect poor Afghan children.”

The parents of the children denied any wrongdoing, citing their inability to feed their children, while those who purchased the children claimed they were only intending to protect the children from hunger and cold. Despite the shocking nature of these incidents, and the large percentage of the Afghan population that is under 18, the country still does not have any specific laws related to child abuse or the sale and trafficking of children.

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