The oven of election campaigns is getting hotter as each day passes. The 11 presidential candidates appear different at forums to present their plans on various issues ranging from security to economy, women right and Afghanistan’s relations with rest of the world. In such circumstances, a very important and critical issue that is being neglected is the sufferings of the Afghan children who have been ill-fated enough to remain out of the government’s attention over the last 12 years. Talking about the future seems gravely futile if there is no talk about the future leaders and builders of Afghanistan – the children.

According to estimates up to 30 percent of primary school age children are engaged in some form of work and are often the sole source of income for their families. Children must be unbound and live a tension free life but the children in Afghanistan have to work for winning bread for their families and from dawn to dark whether it is scorching summer or freezing winter.

In 2000, when the Afghanistan was under the Taliban, only 21 percent of boys and less than 1 percent of girls were enrolled in schools (religious ones), there has been a handsome increment in enrollment since the fall of Taliban though. Today more than 5 million children go to school despite that, nearly 4.5 million remain out of school and become the victims of harsh works and various sorts of crimes.

Child labor is extreme in Afghanistan with more than 25 percent of children working to feed their families. Although they are involved in all sorts of works, a noteworthy number of children work in coal mines for hours without any proper protection. An example of this is children working in coal mines located in central Bamiyan province. The wage these little coal miners receive is about one dollar per day. It has been reported that some of the children working in these mines are below the age of ten. The government is lacking any proper policy for these children, although it knows they work in the most hostile condition in the country.

The long term conflict in Afghanistan caused millions of Afghan children became orphans, disabled and hindered them from getting education. They have now became adults but are illiterate, non-professional and therefore, facing extremely poor economic condition. War can be counted as the biggest enemy of children rights and the result of the three decade long war is obvious in Afghanistan.

Today, the children of Afghanistan need to nurture in a peaceful environment. But peace is going to remain a dream for Afghanistan as no end to militancy is visible. Children are conceived the future pillars of a nation. The entire key to the success in Afghanistan is education of the young toward tolerance, understanding and respect for all faiths and cultures and empowering them with basic aid, school supplies and economic opportunities, while providing security from getting trap in the world of crimes.