In a new report, Save the Children research has found that girls are almost twice as likely as boys to frequently go to bed hungry and 46% of girls say they’re not attending school compared with 20% of boys.
The report also said that 26% of girls are showing signs of depression as compared with 16% of boys as revealed in the research. It added that one year since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, an economic crisis, crippling drought and new restrictions have shattered girls’ lives, excluding them from society and leaving them hungry, with a quarter showing signs of depression.
The report, titled Breaking point: Life for children one year since the Taliban takeover, shows that 97% of families are struggling to provide enough food for their children, and that girls are eating less than boys.
Chris Nyamandi, Save the Children Country Director in Afghanistan, said, “Life is dire for children in Afghanistan, one year since the Taliban took control. 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 of the deteriorating situation. They’re missing more meals, suffering from isolation and emotional distress and are staying home while boys go to school. This is a humanitarian crisis, but also a child rights catastrophe.”
As per Save the Children, nine in 10 girls said that their meals had reduced in the past year and that they worry because they’re losing weight and have no energy to study, play and work. It added that the crisis is also taking a dangerous toll on girls’ mental and psychosocial wellbeing.
Girls interviewed by Save the Children expressed disappointment and anger over the fact they can no longer go to school and said they felt hopeless about their future because they don’t have the rights and freedoms they had previously.
Save the Children director added that the solution lies in the corridors of power and in the offices of our global political leaders.
