by Ali Zahak
14 june 2022
Each year on 12 June, the World Day Against Child Labor highlights the plight of child laborers and what can be done to help them. Based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the member states are committed to taking any measures to prevent the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood.
Afghanistan is one of the signatories of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and is committed to tackling child labor.
The international community provided more than $100 million to Afghanistan to eliminate child labor. Millions of Dollars were spent on projects to improve the lives of the children but the situation did not improve much by such interventions. There was about 3.7 million child labor in 2020 in Afghanistan. After the Covid-19 it reached to 4.7 million. War, insecurity, poverty, migration and unemployment are the main factors behind child labor increase in Afghanistan. Children are not simply laborers, but in addition to begging they do other hard work too. Out of 4.7 child labor 2.1 million of them have been doing hard work.
Laborer children are deprived of education and are very vulnerable. In addition to economic exploitation, they face sexual harassment and even mafia networks exploit them.
Child labor is very pitiful in Afghanistan and it is deteriorating due too. Political change and seizing power by Taliban had negative impacts on different aspects of life in Afghanistan including child labor. And economic collapse made half of the Afghanistan population hungry. Now, many child labor not only do hard work but face hunger too.
Child labor for making a living in the cities show how life is difficult in Afghanistan. Even some child labors are the bread winners of their families. Once I asked a shoe shiner child labor why she works and does not go to school? He said his father has lost his eyes working in a coal shop and he shall afford his 7-member family. Currently, there is too few job opportunities in Afghanistan market, and Afghanistan child labor experience a very tough time. These children struggle in a disappointing situation with dark outlook for future.
Although there is no exact statistics released on child labor in Afghanistan, security deterioration and increasing poverty have made many children to do hard work. The future of these children is unclear and many children face hunger. As a result, child labor is more vulnerable to hunger and other harms.
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