Children without childhood, the grim reality of Iran child laborers

Despite international efforts to eradicate child labor and while the world’s child labor rates have fallen by a third since 2,000, the phenomenon of child laborers has remained rife in Iran.

Millions of children are either sold or sent off to work by their impoverished families. Poverty imposed by the regime is driving parents to such measures in order to keep themselves above water. To repay their debts or gain meager sums of money, some poor families rent their children as young as five and less who might experience years of violence and abuse.

According to the Vice-President of the Association for the Protection of Children’s Rights, Tahereh Pazhuhesh, “Despite global reduction in the child labor statistics, we see child labor surge in Iran.”

These children work as breadwinners, losing their only opportunity of childhood as they toil along the highways and streets, amidst the smoke and commotion or in sweatshops.

Iranian society is all too familiar with images of child laborers. Children are frequently seen working as vendors, cleaning car windscreens, or working on farms and in factories. Most of them have dropped out of school.

Under the regime’s laws, children under 15 are not allowed to work and no child can be employed in a hazardous job that poses a risk to his/her health or life. The law also sets special conditions for the work of children aged 15 to 18 years, however they are ignored by government institutions.

June 12 is the World Day Against Child Labor to raise awareness on this issue and prevent the spread of this deplorable phenomenon.

Iran Human Rights Monitor attempts to shed light on a small portion of the grim reality of Iran child laborers.