Child Labour grows at Afghan Kilns as girls replace women

Aljazeera report of Sept 2022 with many photos, describing sharply increasing child labour in Afghanistan’s brick kilns since the Taliban took over and most international aid stopped flowing. Children are working so that their families will not die of starvation.

As you know the Taliban regime has broken its word and banned women from most work outside the home. To compensate for this more children are working, and especially girls are doing the heavy work at the kilns that their mothers used to do.

In case anyone should think that Afghanistan is an especially backward and benighted place, take note that in the World’s largest parliamentary democracy India (which sends rockets to Mars and exports IT technicians to the West by the thousand) probably a million child labourers work at the brick kilns every year and do not attend any school. This child labour continues within 10 or 20 kilometres of the residences of chief ministers in the full light of day.

https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2022/9/26/photos-poverty-pushes-afghan-children-to-work-at-brick-kilns

Child Labour continues at thousands of brick kilns throughout South Asia

brickkilnnewssasia
Jan 20, 2018
1 min read

Children continue to labour at 30,000 + brick kilns throughout the countries of South Asia - India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan. Mostly migrants, they travel seasonally with family groups from places where it is impossible to survive without migration. They are employed illegally by brick kiln owners, sometimes as individuals doing piece work, sometimes contributing to the family group's income. Hardly any child gets school education as a result of the migrations. Sometimes conditions of bonded labour amount to slavery. Brick kilns close during the rainy season for several months. At this time workers return to their native places.

Until now Government and civil society have taken little interest in the children and adult workers at the brick kilns. Now, thanks to the activity of some NGOs changes are beginning to happen for the children of the brick kilns. The aim of this website is to highlight the conditions in the brick industry, and to give publicity to every initiative to bring change - change means * education for the children * improved living conditions * reduction in migration * eventual end of all child labour.

NB. The child here is doing work often given to children because their feet are small - turn bricks on the ground so that they dry evenly before being taken to the kiln. Children do heavier work too.