Truck driver claims to have fathered FIFTY-FOUR children
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A 70-year-old truck driver claims to have fathered 54 children with six wives - because when he was younger he "had to have sex daily".
Abdul Majeed Mengal, from Nushki, in Quetta, western Pakistan, has fathered tens of children in his lifetime.
Tragically, 12 of his children have died.
He now has 22 sons and 20 daughters.
"In the early days, my strength was good and I had to have sex daily." he said. "But some of my kids died. I worked hard and provided a good education to my older sons. But now I’m an old man these things are out of my hands."
Abdul married his first wife when he was 18-years-old and went on to marry five other women.
(Photo: Cover Asia Press)
(Photo: Cover Asia Press)
Alongside 12 of his children, he has lost two of his wives .
"They [the babies] were not getting enough milk and I was out of money so they died," he admitted. "One of my wives died alongside our baby. She was ill and because we didn’t have any money she died. I was helpless and unemployed."
Abdul has worked all his life as a truck driver earning between 15,000 Pakistan Rupees (£115) and 25,000 Pakistan Rupees (£192) a month depending on the work available.
His oldest living son, Abdul Bari Mengal, is now 32-years-old, and has followed his father’s footsteps as a truck driver to support the family.
Abdul and his oldest son are the only earning members of the family and their salaries have to feed the whole household.
The huge family live in a seven-room house where the children sleep separately with their respective mothers.
(Photo: Cover Asia Press)
(Photo: Cover Asia Press)
Pakistani men are permitted to marry up to four wives under Islam, though to do so they must seek permission from their first wife and an arbitration council. But activists insist women and children suffer the most in any polygamous marriage.
Abdul said he juggles the affections of each of his 42 children by taking turns to attend family events with each of them and their mothers.
The majority of Abdul's children are under 10 and his youngest, a daughter, is just two. He insists everyone lives in harmony.
He said: "We normally eat dal, ladyfinger and vegetables and around 100 rotis every meal time. This is the way we live. But we are managing somehow.
"Good clothes are costly so we rely on four to five rolls of fabric for the kids and we make clothes out of that."
(Photo: Cover Asia Press)
(Photo: Cover Asia Press)
Abdul admitted his ten remaining children do not go to school because he cannot afford the fees.
"I worked to ensure most of my kids got an education," he said. "But my older boys are struggling to get a job. They have graduated but can’t find work. I provided an education but it’s useless as they are unemployed. I pray they get jobs."
Abdul refuses to apply for any financial help even though he is getting older.
He added: "We manage somehow to raise the kids."
Pakistan's estimated population is currently at 194.9 million and allegedly has one of the highest birth rates in South Asia.