Recently, a 70-year-old truck driver in Kedar, Pakistan, told people about his busy and rich life. The most shocking thing is that this old man married 6 wives and is the father of 54 children.
This legendary old man is named Abdul? Magid? Abdul Majeed Mengal. At the age of 18, he married his first wife. In Islam, a man can marry 4 wives, but to take more than one wife requires the consent of the first wife and the approval of the arbitration committee. So, young and frivolous, he married five more wives one after another. The 6 wives gave birth to 54 children for him, of which 12 children died unfortunately, leaving 22 sons and 20 daughters. “When I was young, I had so much energy that I had sex every day. After having so many children, I had to work hard every day to pay for my older sons’ education,” Abdul recalls.
Due to the large population and limited energy, it is difficult for one person to feed a large family. Therefore, Abdul’s 12 babies died one after another because they had no money to drink milk, and one of his wives also passed away due to illness. “I didn’t have the money to pay her a doctor and she just left me. I was unemployed and I just watched the tragedy happen,” he said. As a truck driver, he can earn 115-192 pounds (about 995-1661 yuan) a month. His eldest son is now following in his father’s footsteps as a truck driver, helping the family together. And the meager wages of the father and son have to support a family of 54 people.
The extended family lives in a seven-bedroom house, and the child and mother sleep in separate rooms. Most of Abdul’s children are under 10 years old, and the youngest daughter is just 2 years old. He said he took turns participating in family activities with each child and their mother, and said the family lived in harmony and had fun. Their main food is vegetables and dal rice, which is better on special festivals. For example, during Eid al-Fitr, he would buy 3 goats for his family to have a delicious meal.
Abdul admitted frankly that he had no money to support the remaining 10 children to go to school. “I try to keep my kids educated. My older sons graduated and are still unemployed. I try to keep them in school, and it doesn’t help them get a job. I want them can find a job,” he said. Although his body is gradually aging, his heart is still full of vitality. He refused to accept funding from well-wishers, saying: “We have to support a large family on our own.”
