FAIZABAD (PAN): Forty percent among 530,000 children in the northeastern Badakhshan province have been forced into hard labour, a survey conducted by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has revealed.
As many as 300 children in Wakhan, Zibak, Eshkasham, Yaftil, Baharak, Khas, Daraim districts and the provincial capital city, were forced into hard labour, regional head of the Afghanistan‘s Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), Wahiduddin Arghawan, told Pajhwok Afghan News.
Among the more than one million female population of the province, 10 percent of the girls were deprived of education due to early marriage and family problems, he said, adding 30 percent of the girls could not get education due to remoteness of their houses.
He said 70 percent children were busy working with parents at fields due to poverty. Most of the children in the capital city worked at bakeries, mechanic workshops and restaurants, he said, citing the survey.
On December 10, 2011, AIHRC in a report said two million children had been forced into hard labour in Afghanistan.
Seema Samar, who released the two-year report, said the situation for children and access to justice has not improved. However, road conditions, health services and access to education have enhanced.
“I work for 100 afghanis ($2) on a daily basis to feed my family. If I go to school then who will help my family,” Mohammad Alam, 15, an apprentice at a mechanic workshop, said.
Local officials also confirm the said number of children forced into labour.
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