Among so many serious issues faced by Afghanistan, child labor is an issue of growing concern. The current political tension, security problems, unemployment and low income of Afghan families have put the livelihood of vulnerable families at great risk. Like many other countries in Afghanistan, too, the root cause of child labor lies in poverty and socioeconomic inequalities. Meanwhile, after the Soviet invasion in 1979, Afghanistan has been facing internal and external conflicts. Men have been killed or handicapped and there have been restrictions on women working outside their homes during and after Taliban government which have caused children to become laborers and breadwinners of their families.

In Afghanistan, majority of the population is under the age of 18. 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 are the builders of a nation’s future. At times when Afghanistan is in dire need of future and present builders, unfortunately the suffering of children in this country is multiplying with the passage of each year.

Children that have to be at schools can be seen polishing shoes, cleaning cars and gathering papers and cans in areas where other people throw their garbage. Children work for little wages and therefore, are hired at workshops, restaurants, coal mines and hundreds of other places. The vicious circle of poverty in Afghanistan has trapped a large portion of population. Wellbeing of thousands of families who are grabbed by in the cycle of poverty largely depends on the labor of their children. Majority of these children have to work hard from early morning to late in the evening and leave no stone unturned to find money for buying some food so that their family could eat at night. Harsh winder or scorching summer does not matter for them. The most annoying point about working children is that during their work they are treated rudely and harshly not only by their masters but also other people.

Child labor is against the very accepted rights of children and the government must work to address the main causes behind this problem. 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 entering the world crimes. The government must wake up on the issues facing the Afghan children.