‘One million children engage in child labour in Afghanistan’

KABUL (Pajhwok): Up to one fifth of families in Afghanistan have been forced to send their children out to work as incomes have plummeted in the past six months with an estimated one million children now engaged in child labour, according to new Save the Children research on Tuesday.

A survey of 1,400 households across seven provinces of Afghanistan found that 82% of Afghans have lost income since the collapse of the former government and transition of power last August, with 18% reporting they had no choice but to send their children out to work.

According to Save the Children’s analysis, if just one child in each of these families is being sent to work, then more than one million children in the country are engaged in child labour.

More than 80% of those surveyed reported a loss of income, with a third (34.8%) having lost all of their household income, and a quarter (26.6%) having lost more than half. Families living in cities were hit hardest, with half of families in Kabul saying they had lost their entire income.

The huge spike in prices caused by the economic crisis has left many families unable to afford food. About 36% of families reported that they are purchasing food in the market on credit, whereas 24% said they did previously. Thirty-nine percent are borrowing food from better-off families, compared to just 25% previously.

As families sink further into debt and poverty, 7.5% said they were begging or relying on charity to feed their families.

Last week, Save the Children spoke to Laila*, 12, who has been living with her mother and four siblings in a displacement camp in Balkh Province since her father was killed. Before Save the Children helped her, Laila was working cleaning homes for the equivalent of about 10 U.S. cents per day. Her 15-year-old sister is still going to work.

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