Each year on 12 June, the World Day Against Child Labor is marked. The International Labor Organization (ILO) launched the World Day Against Child Labor in 2002 to focus attention on the global extent of child labor and the action and efforts needed to eliminate it.
Each year on 12 June, the World Day brings together governments, employers and workers organizations, civil society, as well as millions of people from around the world to highlight the plight of child laborers and what can be done to help them. Fighting the phenomenon requires continued cooperation of governments, employers and labor organizations, civil society and millions of people across the world.
The issue of child labor is somehow complicated as family structure, poverty, changes in economic situation caused by unemployment and others are considered as some causes of increasing child labor in the country.
Not all work done by children should be classified as child labor that is to be targeted for elimination. Children’s or adolescents’ participation in work that does not affect their health and personal development or interfere with their schooling, is generally regarded as being something positive.
Child labor is work carried out to the detriment and endangerment of a child, in violation of international law and national legislation. It either deprives children of schooling or requires them to assume the dual burden of schooling and work.
Child labor to be eliminated is a subset of children in employment.
Afghanistan is one of the countries where lots of children are engaged in hard labor or work. There are lots of children working on streets as they are poor, or lost their fathers or breadwinners of their families. A number of children are working in very bad circumstances to make money.
Based on recent reports from the ministry of labor, social affairs and martyrs and disables, there are nearly 1.9 million children laborers in Afghanistan, where 1.2 million of them are hard laborers. Early marriages, deprivation from education, health problems, disabilities and misbehaving with children in borders are a range of problems facing Afghan children.
According to reports, the worst forms of child abuse are child abduction and trafficking of children, child exploitation, and seduction of children for illegal activities, which all cause great physical and mental harm to the children.
Children laborers are the only part of society that is exploited by employers as freelancers or low-wage workers.
This is possible only by using defenseless and ignorant children, and most importantly, the children are not financially independent as their families are facing mostly with cultural and financial poverty.
It is hoped that serious steps are taken in this regard. The country’s ministry of labor, social affairs and martyrs and disables should have necessary plans implemented for the improvement of children’s lives in the country.
The 2022 theme of the world day calls for increased investment in social protection systems and schemes to establish solid social protection floors and protect children from child labor. Today, 160 million children are still engaged in child labor – some as young as 5.
Zarabi
Growing child labor concerning
