Afghan children are being sold for marriage and forced to work as slaves to help their desperate families.
A year since the Taliban takeover, almost 20 million people – nearly half the population – face starvation.
One in eight children goes to bed hungry, with girls eating less than boys.
The departure of Western troops plunged Afghanistan into a humanitarian crisis, leaving the economy on the floor, crippling drought, and girls banned from going to school.
Twelve-year-old Meena was sold off to an older man for marriage because her mother Sadia, 30, needed cash to feed her other three children.
Sadia, whose story is featured in a Save the Children report, was given half the cash pre-wedding but her dad Ahmed vanished with the rest.
Meena became quiet and withdrawn after she learnt about the engagement, and it was eventually called off - leaving Sadia desperate and not knowing how she will keep her family alive.
Meanwhile orphaned 13-year-old Nagina was forced into child labour in order to survive.
Nagina was attending school and had dreams of becoming a doctor before the Taliban returned.
As the economy went into freefall, her older sister Yasmin, 35, had to make the difficult decision to remove Nagina from school and send her to work cleaning houses in order to support their siblings.
Sharara, 10, and her family were evicted because they couldn’t pay the rent.
Their landlord offered to buy one of the children in exchange for free board but they were thrown on to the streets when they refused.
Her older sister Parishad, 15, said: “Some days my father cannot bring food.
"My brothers wake up at midnight and cry for food. I don’t eat, and I save my food for my brothers and sisters. I feel very frustrated and sad. I cry.”
Shekeba, 15, her mother Hameeda and cousin Noria, six, fled their village when a bomb destroyed their home.
To make ends meet, Hameeda now collects cotton from fields, helped by Shekeba who cannot go to school after the same explosion wrecked it.
The family live on stale bread washed down with tea, and rice when they can get it.
A Save the Children report says 97% of Afghan families struggle to provide food for their children.
Forty-six per cent of girls say they are not attending school, compared with 20% of boys.
And nine in 10 girls say they had less to eat in the past year and were losing weight, with no energy to work.
Chris Nyamandi, director of Save the Children in Afghanistan, said: “Children are going to bed hungry night after night. They’re exhausted and wasting away, unable to play and study like they used to.
“They’re spending their days toiling in brick factories, collecting rubbish and cleaning homes instead of going to school.
“Girls are bearing the brunt. This is a humanitarian crisis, but also a child rights catastrophe.
“The UK Government must demonstrate renewed commitment to these vulnerable children, through immediate humanitarian funding and working to revive the banking system and support the economy.”
Brit living in fear of execution
A Brit trapped in Afghanistan has spoken about living in fear of being killed by the Taliban.
The 31-year-old dad of four from Bradford, West Yorks, was an interpreter for UK forces in Helmand from 2009 to 2014.
But the Taliban captured him as he headed to the airport while trying to flee the country.
He now says he cannot return to his village in Kunduz because the Taliban is dragging his former colleagues out of their houses to kill them.
“The situation is awful. In the past year since the Taliban took over, three of my friends who supported UK forces have been killed by them,” he said.
“There is no safety, they are killing interpreters and those who supported UK forces.
“There is no way to access any help, we are living in a really critical situation. I am just taking every moment as it comes. I don’t know what may happen in the next second.”
The man hasn’t eaten for days due to food shortages and is unable to treat his sick father due to lack of medicine.
TV news presenter Zahra Shaheer was one of the lucky ones to make it out of Afghanistan and is now trying to carve out a new life in Britain.
She now lives in High Wycombe, Bucks, with her daughter Beheena, 11, and son Zaheen, 10, after they secured seats on one of the few evacuation flights.
Zahra, who is being supported by the International Rescue Committee, said: “I’m so relieved I can say I’m safe now, and my daughter can go to school and has opportunities. They’re both settled and have made friends.
“Sometimes I cry for my family and friends who are still in Afghanistan. There are so many women still in danger, which is why I want to use my platform to support them and advocate for their rights.”
- To donate to Save the Children's emergency fund for Afghanistan, click here.
