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.
Sadeq, while speaking to the BBC, said, “I cannot remember all their names. Most of the time, I simply call them ‘son’ or ‘child’.”? He said that there are times when he cannot feed his kids, and they go to bed hungry.
“Most of them walk barefoot because they do not have shoes.” Despite the struggles, he continues to have kids, and, according to the outlet, his youngest is three months old.
In a video posted on Instagram, the Afghan man, during his interaction with the outlet, showed his house. The rooms where his family lives have no doors or windows, and they are separated from each other by thin curtains.
He said that the family lights fires with paper to cook food. Though the house has a stove, he couldn’t use it due to a lack of firewood.
{{/usCountry}}He said that the family lights fires with paper to cook food. Though the house has a stove, he couldn’t use it due to a lack of firewood.
{{/usCountry}}Talking about his wives, he said he has four and married them when they were young. He claimed that due to his spouses being young, many of his children have died. “They did not know how to care for the children, breastfeed them or look after them.”
According to a 2026 Guardian report, the country has seen a surge in underage brides. 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.
Though he didn’t explain why he keeps on growing his family despite the dire situation, he admitted that he failed to fulfil his responsibilities towards his children.
What does he do?
Sadeq works at a car dealership and earns 1,000 Afghanis (approx. ₹1,469) for each car he sells. That is the income he and his family survive on.
He told the outlet that if he had known the situation would be so tough, he would not have fathered so many kids.