Afghan man with 4 wives regrets having 58 children, says he can barely feed his family

• Muhammad Sadeq, an Afghan father of 58 surviving children from four wives, admitted he regrets the size of his family given the poverty they live in
• The family survives on a single income from a car dealership, with children often going to bed hungry and walking barefoot
• Sadeq told the BBC he cannot remember all his children's names and acknowledged he has failed in his responsibilities as a father

An Afghan man who has fathered more than 70 children across four marriages says the weight of his choices has become impossible to bear, with his family mired in poverty and struggling to secure even the most basic necessities.

Muhammad Sadeq, who has 58 surviving children, made the admission in a BBC interview that laid bare the consequences of one of the largest families in the country. His youngest child is just three months old.

Afghan family sleeps hunry sometimes due to poverty

The family occupies mud houses without proper doors or windows, relying on thin curtains to keep out the cold. When there is no firewood, scraps of paper are burned to cook food. Children frequently go to bed without eating and have no shoes to wear.

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Sadeq's only source of income comes from his work at a car dealership, where he earns roughly 1,000 Afghanis, equivalent to around KSh 1,947, for each vehicle he sells.

That commission is all that stands between his enormous household and complete destitution.

"At times, the children go to bed hungry, and many walk barefoot because their family cannot afford shoes," he said.

Looking back, Sadeq acknowledged that he would not have built such a large family had he anticipated the financial strain it would bring.

Even so, he did not explain why he kept expanding his household despite being unable to provide for those already in his care.

Muhammad Sadeq cannot remember all his children's names

In one of the more striking confessions from the interview, Sadeq admitted he can no longer recall the names of all his children. Rather than use their names, he resorts to calling them "son" or "child" when addressing them.

"I cannot remember all their names. Most of the time, I simply call them 'son' or 'child,'" he told the BBC. He also conceded that he had fallen short of his duties as a father and provider.

All four of his wives were married at a young age, a practice that carries serious consequences in Afghanistan. Sadeq linked the deaths of several of his children partly to their mothers' inexperience with infant care at such a young age.

"I married my wives when they were young. Many of my children died because their mothers were very young. They did not know how to care for the children, breastfeed them or look after them. Some of my children died from tuberculosis, whooping cough and measles," he explained.

The number of children who died before reaching adulthood brings the total he has fathered to more than 70.

Source: TUKO.co.ke

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