A family in Afghanistan has made the heartbreaking decision to sell their daughter to avoid starvation.
The country has been thrown into chaos ever since the Taliban took control last month.
Thousands of people have been displaced and many have fled their homes in search of somewhere safer.
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The return of the Taliban saw Afghanistan's currency plummet in value and one father was seen in a marketplace trying to offload his daughter for a few hundred bucks.
The Times reporter Anthony Loyd was walking through the bazaar in Kabul's Jada-e Maiwand area when he spotted the desperate dad.
Mir Nazir, a former police officer who lost his job in the city of Ghazni just before the Taliban took over Afghanistan, moved his family of seven to the capital to see whether they could make some money at the bustling marketplace.
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The 38-year-old man was trying to sell his daughter for nearly AUD$800, however was getting lowballed by one buyer who offered just $320 for the four-year-old girl.
Mir told the journalist: "I would prefer to die than be reduced to selling my daughter.
"But my own death wouldn't save anyone in my family. Who would feed my other children? This isn't about choice. It's about desperation.
"I received an offer from a shop owner, a man I knew who had no children. He offered 20,000 afghanis (AUD$314) for my daughter Safia to live with him and start working in his shop.
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"If I ever get the 20,000 afghanis to buy her back, he said I could. But I can't sell my daughter for that low a price...we are still discussing. She may have a better future working in a shop than staying with me, and the price may save my family."
It's a heartbreaking reality facing many citizens in the country, with many feeling like they have nowhere to turn now that the Taliban are in power.
The situation is feared to get worse in the coming weeks and months as international aid dries up.
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According to The Australian, The World Bank put a pause on sending aid to Afghanistan at the end of last month and the International Monetary Fund has stopped nearly half a billion US dollars from being sent to the country.
Mir Nazir is thankful the fighting has stopped, however he's worried his people will face a new type of war: poverty.
If you want to help, you can check out these groups or organisations who are on the ground.
- Act for Peace
- Action Aid
- UNHCR
- CARE Australia
- Caritas Australia
- Australian Lutheran World Service
- Tearfund
- World Vision
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