![\"\"](\"https:\/\/rukhshana.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/010-1-1024x576-1.png\")
The higher number of girls needing treatment is due to favoritism towards sons, Dr. Sediq believes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn our society, boys are valued more than girls and families pay a lot of attention to boys,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople believe that boys will be the breadwinners of the family, and that\u2019s how it is,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some people Rukhshana Media spoke to in Kandahar support this theory. They say in some parts of the province, it is not uncommon to reserve the good food for male members of the family. Dr. Sediq, who mostly deals with the families, says that he believes the culture is wrong on this matter, but it has deep roots in Kandahar society and is difficult to shift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn houses where the number of family members is large, men eat bread in one place and women in another place,\u201d he says. \u201cGood food is given to men. If there is anything left from them, women will eat it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Women who are pregnant are also treated like this in families where this is practiced, which further makes problems for the infant after he or she is born, Dr Sediq says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A typical family in Kandahar is quite large with many children, and it is not uncommon to find the dining areas divided into women’s and men\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ahmadullah Azizi, a civil activist in Kandahar, says that this custom is relatively rare in the city, but there are many families outside the city who still adhere to it and use it to discriminate against women in some way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis (practice) has many negative effects,\u201d he says. \u201cThere are families that do not pay attention to women at all. In many houses, the tables for women and men are separated and because of the guest, good food is given to the men’s section.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 35-year-old man from Zherai district of Kandahar, who does not want to be named in the report, says that a family of 70 people lives in his neighborhood. He says that dining for men and women in that family is separate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMen eat first and then women,\u201d he says. \u201cIf the food is scarce and there are many guests, it is natural that good and more food is given to the men and there is nothing or little left for the women.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Ahmadullah Faizi, head of the children’s department in a public health department in Kandahar, says that every six of ten malnourished children are girls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGirls’ food is not taken care of because families discriminate against them,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople say, \u2018Don’t give a girl proper food. Girls belong to another house.\u2019 Meaning that they will eventually go to another family after then get married.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Sayed Ahmad Shadab, Deputy Director of Public Health of the Taliban in Kandahar, says that the condition of malnourished children in the province is tragic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen someone goes to the district and sees the conditions there, the situation is very sad,\u201d he says. \u201cThere are children who you see who are alive but they look dead.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Mr. Shadab, many women who are malnourished themselves have given birth to children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow can a mother who is malnourished herself raise a child?\u201d Mr. Shadab asks. \u201cIf a mother can’t get anything to eat and breastfeed her child because of her own poverty, then what will be the condition of the child?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bibi Jan, 30, is resident of the 15th district of Kandahar. Fifteen years ago, when she was 15 years old, she married a man against her will who was about 20 years older than her. She has given birth to nine children so far, most of whom died from malnourishment. Only three have survived – two sons and one daughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She has brought her six-month-old daughter, who is acutely malnourished, to the hospital for treatment and her daughter has been hospitalized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is my ninth child,\u201d she says. \u201cThe others all starved to death.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is the 30th day that my daughter has been in bed.\u201d It is unclear whether her daughter will survive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
About 60 percent of infants and children being treated for malnourishment in Kandahar province are female, health sources say. According to statistics from Kandahar\u2019s Mirwais Seminary Hospital\u2019s children\u2019s department, the province has one of the highest rates of malnourishment in the country after Kabul.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"subtitle":"","format":"standard","video":"","gallery":"","source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"1","override":[{"template":"5","single_blog_custom":"","layout":"double-sidebar","sidebar":"","second_sidebar":"","share_position":"","share_float_style":"","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"","post_date_format_custom":"","post_reading_time_wpm":"","zoom_button_out_step":"1","zoom_button_in_step":"1","number_popup_post":"1"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"","single_post_gallery_size":""}],"trending_post_position":"","trending_post_label":"","sponsored_post_label":"","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":""},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":""},"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[966,902],"tags":[3331,3758,3757],"class_list":["post-14060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-en","category-reports-en","tag-families","tag-female-children","tag-malnourishment"],"yoast_head":"\n