As dawn breaks, hundreds of men gather at a dusty square in Chaghcharan, the capital of Ghor province in Afghanistan.
They line the roadside with weary faces, hoping someone will come along offering any work. It will determine whether their families eat that day. The likelihood of success, however, is low.
Juma Khan, 45, has found just three days of work in the past six weeks that paid between 150 to 200 Afghani ($2.35-$3.13; £1.76-£2.34) per day. My children went to bed hungry three nights in a row. My wife was crying, so were my children. So I begged a neighbour for some money to buy flour, he says.
His story is in no way unique. In Afghanistan today, a staggering three in four people cannot meet their basic needs, according to the United Nations. Unemployment is rife, healthcare struggling, and the aid that once provided the basics for millions has dwindled to a fraction of what it once was.
Ghor is one of the worst-affected provinces. The country is now facing record levels of hunger, with 4.7 million - more than a tenth of Afghanistan's population - estimated to be one step away from famine.
Abdul Rashid Azimi, a father, expresses his anguish: I'm willing to sell my daughters, he weeps. I'm poor, in debt and helpless. If I sell one daughter, I could feed the rest of my children for at least four years. The chilling reality reflects the dire circumstances families face as they fall further into poverty.
Many fathers like Saeed Ahmad have been forced to sell their daughters when faced with tremendous medical expenses. I sold my daughter to a relative to cover her medical bills, but it carries a lot of anxiety, he admits.
This harrowing situation has devastating impacts on children, with child mortality rates due to malnutrition spiking alarmingly. Families are pushed to engage in transactions that are culturally taboo out of sheer desperation, as they navigate the confines of a broken system devoid of support. The Taliban's restrictions on education for girls exacerbate these issues, leading many to view daughters as liabilities in a struggling household.
The emotional turmoil of these fathers showcases the heartbreaking nature of survival in Afghanistan, where each choice weighs heavily upon them, often leading to their children's futures being sacrificed for the immediate needs of survival.
