Afghanistan: Shaiqa’s story

In a harrowing episode of *From Our Own Correspondent*, the BBC's Yogita Lemaya delivers a devastating portrait of life under the Taliban in Afghanistan, centering on five-year-old Shaika, whose father, Saeed Ahmed, was forced to sell her into marriage for 200,000 Afghanis—roughly £2,400—to fund her life-saving appendectomy. The decision, made in the face of extreme poverty and collapsed humanitarian aid, underscores a tragic reality: in a country where 75% of the population faces food insecurity, families are now resorting to child marriage as a survival strategy. The episode reveals how the Taliban’s severe restrictions on women’s rights and education have triggered a mass withdrawal of international aid, leaving millions without basic necessities. As Saeed clutches his daughter in quiet anguish, the episode exposes the moral collapse of a system where a father’s love is measured by his ability to pay for a child’s life. The story is not just about one family—it’s a symptom of a state failing its most vulnerable, where survival demands unimaginable sacrifice. The episode then shifts to Sudan, where Khartoum is slowly recovering from a brutal civil war that has killed over 150,000 and displaced 12 million. Despite signs of return—restored electricity, open markets, and returning residents—the city remains scarred by unexploded ordnance, shortages, and the loss of its Acacia forest.