Poverty, displacement, customs and weak legislation are factors that increase child labor in Anbar

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[size=52]Poverty, displacement, customs and weak legislation are factors that increase child labor in Anbar[/size]

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2024-08-28
Anbar -
Ayoub Saad
With his delicate fingers and weak build, Mazen Khamis (15 years old) pushes his cart full of vegetables and fruits inside the Ramadi market, the center of Anbar Governorate, to secure a livelihood for himself and his family.[/size]
[size=45]Mazen is one of a group of boys who spread out in the market, spending a long time carrying goods between vendors and customers, in a clear embodiment of the increasing phenomenon of child labor and children dropping out of school, which exposes them to severe psychological and physical pressures, and threatens their educational future.[/size]
[size=45]Regarding his working conditions in this market, Mazen says, during a conversation, “My family’s economic circumstances forced me to leave school and go to the market to work to support my family.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, “The working hours are long for very low wages, which do not equal the effort and fatigue I put in throughout the entire day, but I am forced to do this because I did not complete my education, despite my awareness of the importance of studying. It is not my choice.”[/size]
[size=45]It is noteworthy that the phenomenon of child labor has increased significantly in Anbar Governorate recently, which has provoked the ire of Iraqi and international humanitarian organizations, and prompted them to demand the intensification of official and unofficial efforts to rescue the victims of this phenomenon.[/size]
[size=45]For his part, social researcher Abdul Aziz Al-Jabri said, during an interview with “Al-Alam Al-Jadeed”, that “the spread of child labor in Anbar represents a serious social and economic problem. Children in this province often resort to work due to poverty and the loss of a breadwinner, or due to the lack of suitable educational opportunities. They are exposed to health and psychological risks that affect their mental and physical development.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Jabri added, “Children may be exposed to work injuries or diseases due to the unhealthy environment, and working at an early age may lead to psychological pressure and constant anxiety due to responsibilities beyond their age.”[/size]
[size=45]He stresses that “working children often drop out of school or are absent from school, which affects their future opportunities. Early work can also lead to behavioral deviations as a result of exposure to unsuitable environments.”[/size]
[size=45]Regarding possible solutions that contribute to avoiding the risks of children losing their future, the social researcher explains that “social and economic support programs must be provided for poor families to reduce the need for child labor, in addition to good education and programs dedicated to encouraging working children to go to school.”[/size]
[size=45]He calls for “activating laws that prohibit child labor, strengthening supervision of workplaces, and spreading awareness among families and employers about the dangers of child labor and the importance of education.”[/size]
[size=45]The issue is not limited to Anbar Governorate, but international statistics indicate that the percentage of child labor in Iraq is 4.9 percent in the young age groups from 7-17 years old, and their work is concentrated in the industrial, agricultural and service sectors at high rates.[/size]
[size=45]For his part, the head of the “Roots” Center for Children’s Development and Culture, Youssef Al-Nida, said during an interview with “Al-Alam Al-Jadeed” that “child labor branches into multiple aspects, including social aspects represented by wrong customs and traditions and common sayings from families and society, which require the child to work while he is young, in order to realize the meaning of manhood and self-reliance at an early age, and these are methods and dealings that are largely wrong.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Nida confirms that “the government’s neglect and disregard for the implementation of laws that protect children’s rights, and the failure to follow up on projects and programs that prevent children from being exposed to any health or psychological risks, have contributed to the increasing exacerbation of the labor crisis in Anbar.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, “Most children in the labor market are subjected to harassment and abuse, and are exploited in illegal and inhumane ways. Therefore, the supervisory role must be activated to protect children and prevent any trafficking in or deprivation of their rights.”[/size]
[size=45]It is noteworthy that the Iraqi Labor Law has limited child labor, as it has set criminal penalties in Article 11, which stipulates that anyone who violates the provisions of the articles related to child labor, discrimination, forced labor, and sexual harassment shall be punished with imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months and a fine not exceeding one million dinars, or with one of these two penalties.[/size]
[size=45]On April 15, the head of the Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq, Fadhel Al-Gharawi, revealed that Iraq ranked fourth in the Arab world in child labor, after Yemen in first place, Sudan in second place, and Egypt in third place.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Gharawi explained during an interview with “Al-Alam Al-Jadeed” by saying, “Child labor is a global phenomenon, with its highest rates in low-income countries. Here, more than 200 million children in the world, aged 6 to 17, work in the labor market, 80 percent of whom are males.”[/size]
[size=45]“According to the United Nations, child labor is more prevalent in Africa than elsewhere, with 72 million working children, followed by Asia and the Pacific with 62 million children, and 11 million working children are distributed between the Americas, which is equivalent to 5 percent of children in the world. In Europe and Central Asia, 4 percent of children work, and in the Arab world, the percentage of child labor reaches 3 percent,” he explains.[/size]
[size=45]He attributes the reasons for the high rates of child labor in Iraq to “the economic conditions due to low family income, high rates of unemployment and poverty, the conflicts that Iraq has experienced, displacement, high rates of domestic violence against children, and the weakness of the legal system and strategies to protect children’s rights.”[/size]
[size=45]Reports indicate that about one million Iraqi school-age children are in the labor market today, and that approximately 30 percent of Iraqi families have children working in various fields. It adds that these children work for a daily wage, which indicates their involvement in temporary and low-paying jobs, in addition to their involvement in domestic service and construction work.[/size]
[size=45]According to activists, children are also involved in illegal activities, such as theft, begging, garbage collection and even drug dealing. As part of the illegal activities, organized gangs throw girls into nightclubs and exploit them in prostitution and human trafficking.[/size]
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