Muhammad Sadeq, an Afghan man who has fathered 70 children, 58 of whom are alive, has opened up about the overwhelming reality of managing his massive family.
Living in severe poverty, Sadeq, in an interview, said that he can no longer afford to feed all his children, nor can he even remember every one of their names.
Most of the time, I simply call them ‘son’ or ‘child’.”? “They did not know how to care for the children, breastfeed them or look after them. The country has seen a surge in underage brides, according to a 2026 Guardian report.
Because they do not have shoes, “Most of them walk barefoot. Though the house has a stove, he couldn’t use it due to a lack of firewood. He claimed that due to his spouses being young, many of his children have died.
Sadeq, while speaking to the BBC, said, “I cannot remember all their names. He said that there are times when he cannot feed his kids, and they go to bed hungry. Despite the struggles, he continues to have kids , and, according to the outlet, his youngest is three months old. He said that the family lights fires with paper to cook food. Talking about his wives, he said he has four and married them when they were young. It said that a rising number of girls in Afghanistan are being sold into child marriage.
“Since the new government came to power, the number of child mothers has increased dramatically. In the past, perhaps only two child mothers visited the hospital each month, most of whom were from illiterate families.
But now, literate and illiterate families marry off their daughters at a young age,” a midwife then said to the Guardian.
