By Satar Furogh and Ahmad Hanayish
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
October 29, 2024

Gul Hotak and her family survive on just one meal per day — often leftovers from neighbors.

Hotak is the sole breadwinner for her family of four. Her husband is sick and cannot work. She cleans people’s houses in exchange for food.

“My neighbors sometimes give us what little food they have cooked,” Hotak, who lives in Kabul, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi.

“I wash clothes for others, and they give me dry bread or whatever leftovers they have from the night before. That’s how we’re getting by,” added Hotak, who has two young daughters.

Hotak and her family are among the millions of people in Afghanistan — the world’s largest humanitarian crisis — who are going hungry.

Around 70 percent of Afghanistan’s population of some 40 million people do not have enough to eat, according to the United Nations.

Women and children are bearing the brunt of the hunger crisis in Afghanistan, where poverty and unemployment have soared since the Taliban seized power in 2021.

The militant group has severely curtailed women’s rights, including barring many women from working outside their homes.

Women who are unmarried or do not have a male guardian, or mahram, face even tougher restrictions. Many face obstacles to accessing humanitarian aid.

‘I’m Losing My Mind’

Zainab and her five children often do not know where their next meal will come from.

The 32-year-old used to work as a cook. But she lost her job after the Taliban takeover. Her husband, an addict, disappeared several years ago, leaving her to fend for their children alone.

“Sometimes we don’t even have dry bread to eat, and my children go to bed hungry,” Zainab, who lives in the Afghan capital, told Radio Azadi.

“My kids had only dry bread and tea tonight,” she added. “I’m hungry right now. My head hurts a lot. I prayed and cried, asking God to solve our problems. I feel like I’m losing my mind.”

Simin is also the sole breadwinner for her family of five.

The 42-year-old said she does not have enough money to buy even the most basic food items.

“I went to my sister’s house because I didn’t have any onions or potatoes,” she told Radio Azadi. “She gave me a few onions and some money to buy potatoes from the shop.”

Simin has not been able to pay her rent for months, and her landlord has issued her an eviction notice.

“Our landlord has given us 10 days to leave the house,” she said. “I’m at a loss as to what to do. I’m so tired of life.”

‘Staggering’ Malnutrition

Women and children are the most affected by the hunger crisis in Afghanistan.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said on October 17 that clinics in the country were recording “alarming” cases of acute child malnutrition.

“The scale of malnutrition in our country is staggering,” said Mohammad Nabi Burhan, secretary-general of the Afghan Red Crescent Society.

Meanwhile, the World Food Program (WFP) has warned that it is only able to help half of the around 12 million Afghans who need humanitarian assistance.

That is due to the “severe shortage” of international funding, Ziauddin Safi, a WFP spokesman in Afghanistan, told Radio Azadi. “We cannot help more people.”

Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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