During an interview, the 55-year-old dad, Abdul, said that he reportedly sold his 9-year-old daughter, Parwana, to a 55-year-old man, Orban, because he had no choice but to sell the little girl so that the rest of his family could be fed. The ‘broken father’ told CNN: “We are eight family members. I have to sell to keep other family members alive.” The father had already sold his 12-year-old daughter before deciding to sell 9-year-old Parwana because his family couldn’t afford even basic necessities. Abdul had desperately tried to search for work in the provincial capital city, but he couldn’t find anything. He had also borrowed lots of money from relatives while his wife, out of desperation, began begging for food.
Unfortunately, the only choice Abdul felt he had was to sell Parwana. And the money he gets will only put food on their tables for a few months. Then once again, Abdul will have to worry about how his family will survive. Ahead of the sale, the little girl said, “My father has sold me because we don’t have bread, rice, or flour. He has sold me to an old man.” To her, the buyer is just an old man with a thick white beard and white eyebrows, who is tearing her away from her family. Parwana is forced to leave behind the life she knows and join the man as well as his two wives.
Orban visited Abdul’s house and was ready to take Parwana home. In exchange for the little girl, he gave the father 200,000 Afghanis (about $2,200) in the form of sheep, land, and some cash, according to CNN. “This is your bride,” Abdul said as he handed his child over to the man, he said these heart-breaking words: “Please take care of her, please don’t beat her.” Parwana helplessly stood there, dressed in a black head-covering while a colorful floral garland hung from her neck. She whimpered as her weeping father begged the man not to beat her or cause her any harm.
Right after Orban agreed, he clutched the reluctant little girl’s arm and took her out of the house. She began digging her feet into the ground, trying to pull away from the man and the new life she was forced to step into. But Orban dragged her all the way to the car while Abdul watched from the doorway as his daughter disappeared. “Parwana was cheap, and her father was very poor and he needs money,” Orban said. “She will be working in my home. I won’t beat her. I will treat her like a family member. I will be kind.”
