An Afghan father has heartbreakingly sold his nine-year-old daughter to a man more than five times her age to feed his family.
Times were already tough for Abdul Malik as he was struggling to earn enough money to put food on the table.
His family has been living in an Afghan displacement camp in the country's north for four years and managed to bring in £2 per day from doing humanitarian work.
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However, since the Taliban came into power it's been increasingly difficult to get compensated and Abdul has been forced to do the unthinkable.
CNN captured the moment a man named Qorban bought nine-year-old Parwana from her family as a child bride.
Abdul was heartbroken with guilt to sell his young daughter to the 55-year-old and told Qorban after the deal was done: "This is your bride. Please take care of her. You are responsible now, please don't beat her."
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The father was already racked with devastation after selling Parwana's 12-year-old sister to ensure they had enough food, however it wasn't enough.
Parwana was sold for £1,600, with the payment coming in the form of cash, sheep and land.
Abdul admits that it will probably only keep his family afloat for a few months before he's forced to sell another family member.
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"We are eight family members. I have to sell to keep other family members alive," he told CNN.
"As I can see, we don't have a future - our future is destroyed. I will have to sell another daughter if my financial situation doesn't improve - probably the two-year-old."
As Parwana was being led away by her new 'owner', she could be seen resisting and digging her heels into the ground.
"My father has sold me because we don't have bread, rice or flour. He has sold me to an old man," she said.
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Qorban assured the camera that he will be taking care of the nine-year-old.
"[Parwana] was cheap, and her father was very poor and he needs money. She will be working in my home. I won't beat her. I will treat her like a family member. I will be kind," he said.
Heartbreakingly, this appears to be an all too common sight in Afghanistan at the moment as the Taliban's takeover of the country pushes families to breaking point.
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According to CNN, another nine-member family was getting ready to four-year-old and nine-year-old daughters to willing buyers, while a different family got some money by selling their 10-year-old to a 70-year-old man.
Featured Image Credit: CNNTopics: News