Poverty drives many children into labor work in Helmand

LASHKARGAH (Pajhwok): Children engaged in labor work in Lashkargah, the capital of southern Helmand province, say they dropped out of school due to poverty and the government should help them resume education.

Most of these children run hand-carts, collect plastic and bottles from garbage heaps, polish shoes and sell goods on roadsides.

One of the children, Ahmad, a resident of Nawazd district, said he lived in a rented house with his family in Lashkargah city.

“I earn 200 to 250 afghanis a day. I want to study, but if I don’t work, my family will go to bed empty stomach.”

With signs of poverty visible on his face, Ahamd told Pajhwok that the government should help him resume school.

He said if the Islamic Emirate helped him go to school, he could have a good future.

Eleven-year-old Sher Muhammad sells potatoes on a hand-cart.

He told Pajhwok: “My father is old and I have to meet the expenses of my nine family members. If I wasn’t forced to work, I would go to school. Household expenses are very high and I have to work, but I make only 100 afghanis a day.”

Similarly, 12-year-old Humayun sells children’s goods on his cart since leaving school. He earns 50 to 80 afghanis a day.

“There is no one else in my family to work,” the child said.

A shopkeeper in Lashkargah, Mohammad Isa Azimi, said many families had arrived in the city from districts due to drought and some families had returned from Pakistan.

He said the number of working children in the city had increased compared to the past.

Hafiz Ahmad Nusrat, a legal affairs expert, said children should go to school instead of working and the government should support poor children.

“Children need love and respect. Families should not send their children to work, but should send them academic centers.

He said children were future builders and the government should pave the way for their education and wellbeing.

Dr. Abdul Khalil Aminzada, an internal medicine specialist, said children under 18 years of agge should not be forced to work in any way.

“Children under 18 years of age if do heavy work, their growth and development is affected. Children’s right to childhood must not be taken away. They should be encouraged to study and build their own future”.

However, Maulvi Mohammad Rahim Mukhalis, acting head of the Department of Labor and Social Affairs, denied the number of working children had increased in Helmand.

He said the government had prevented children from doing hazardous work in Helmand.

“Since the return of the Islamic Emirate, 90 percent of working children have turned to education and 10 percent are children who have come to the city due to drought or their families have returned from Pakistan.”

No survey has been conducted to determine the number of working children in Helmand, but Lashkargah residents believe their number has increased.

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