Muhammad Sadeq, an Afghan man with four wives and over 70 children, is struggling to provide basic necessities for his massive family amidst extreme poverty. His recent interview highlighted their dire living conditions and the tragic consequences of child marriage, sparking widespread concern on social media.
The difficult realities of raising a big family in abject poverty have been made clear by an Afghan man who has fathered over 70 children, 58 of whom are still living. Muhammad Sadeq, who lives with his four wives and kids, has talked candidly about the difficulties he faces in providing even the most basic needs; some of his kids go to bed hungry and walk barefoot because he cannot afford shoes and food.
In an interview with the BBC, Sadeq admitted that the sheer size of his family has made it difficult for him to remember all his children’s names. “I cannot remember all their names. Most of the time, I simply call them ‘son’ or ‘child’,” he said. His youngest child is reportedly just three months old, despite the family’s already desperate financial circumstances.
A peek of the family’s living circumstances was provided via a video that BBC Global Women posted on Instagram. Their mud house’s rooms lack windows and doors, with flimsy drapes acting as temporary dividers between living areas.
The family also finds it difficult to prepare meals, and because they cannot buy fuel, they occasionally light fires using paper. Despite having a cooker, they are unable to use it frequently due to a shortage of fuel.
Sadeq works at a car dealership, where he earns 1,000 Afghanis, approximately Rs 1,469, for every car he sells. This income is reportedly the family’s primary source of financial support, leaving him struggling to provide food, clothing and other essentials for his children.
As he considered his situation, Sadeq admitted that he had not fulfilled his obligations to his family. He also acknowledged that if he had realised how hard it would be to support them, he would not have fathered so many children. He did not, however, provide an explanation for why he kept having kids in spite of the family’s dire financial circumstances.
All four of Sadeq’s wives had married young, he disclosed during the interview. He blamed their mothers’ inexperience with caring for infants and young children for the deaths of numerous of his children.
The larger problem of underage marriage in Afghanistan has also been brought to light by his story. The Guardian reported in 2026 that the number of child weddings in the nation was on the rise, with more girls allegedly being married off at a young age.
Sadeq’s story has raised awareness of the difficulties poor Afghan women and children confront, where poverty, early marriage, and a lack of access to basic services can have disastrous effects on families.
Watch Viral Video
How Did Social Media React?
The video shared by @bbcglobalwoman on Instagram prompted strong reactions from social media users, many of whom expressed concern over the children’s living conditions and the circumstances in which Sadeq’s wives became mothers.
“So many violations of human rights in one video,” one user commented.
Another expressed concern about the age of the mothers and the implications of early pregnancies, writing, “Disturbing that some of his wives were too young to understand how to breastfeed or look after the babies. Deeply concerning at what age they were when they conceived. 😢 and these poor kids.”
Another user expressed sympathy for the women, pointing to the physical and emotional toll of repeated pregnancies at a young age. “I feel so sorry for the four wifes that had to go through so many births… they were obviously children. im so upset for these conditions💔💔”