Kabul Family Struggles with Poverty Ahead of Eid al-Fitr After Husband's Paralysis

KABUL (Afghan Verified) -- With three days remaining until Eid al-Fitr, a family in Kabul's Koh Chahldokhtaran area is struggling to meet basic needs amid ongoing poverty.

Ziraafshan, a 50-year-old woman and sole breadwinner for her seven-member family, said her husband Musa has been paralyzed in his hands and legs, with impaired hearing, since a secondary explosion six years ago at the Syed al-Shuhada school in the same neighborhood. Musa had rushed to the school during the attack but was injured in the blast that followed.

Ziraafshan, mother to four daughters and one son, supports the family by washing clothes in people's homes, carding wool and cracking almonds. She sold their home using funds from Operation Musa and now lives in a rented house. The family received short-term aid of about 2,900 afghanis per month for a few months through a local representative, but that assistance has ended. Recently, they received a one-time sack of flour from a donor.

Ahead of Eid al-Fitr, Ziraafshan said she has not been able to buy new clothes, fruits or sweets for her children in the past six years. Most of the family's clothing comes from charity, including others' old and new items. Despite the hardships, she expressed hope for her husband's recovery, saying, "If my husband gets better, our life will be sorted again."

Musa, speaking in a weak voice with tears, described their rented home's dire conditions and appealed for help. "We deserve help, we have nothing," he said. "When I am alone, my heart tightens."

Mufti Shamusalrahman Furutan, a religious scholar, emphasized the virtue of aiding the poor, especially during Ramadan. He cited a hadith from the Prophet, saying whoever provides iftar to a fasting person receives the same reward as the faster, without diminishing the faster's reward. "Everyone is obligated to help the poor according to their ability," Furutan said.