A short Afghan childhood

Future for many Afghan children is directly related to their parents’ jobs.It’s a matter of luck. If you are an Afghan born into a family of blacksmiths, you are condemned to spend the rest of your life in a cold and dirty workshop. If your father is a traditional karakul hats maker, you will have a better life sewing in a warmer shop.

According to Unicef, 10% children are forced to work in Afghanistan. According to a recent investigation, it’s the sixth country with the largest rate of child labor.

A regulation adopted in 2007 by the local government allows those who already are 14 years old to become apprentices. But after walking around markets in Kabul, it’s easy to see that very young children skip school to support their parents at work.

A child has a cup of tea during a break in his relatives’ workshop in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photo by Albert Gonzalez Farran, UNAMA

It’s a matter of luck. If you are an Afghan born into a family of blacksmiths, you are condemned to spend the rest of your life in a cold and dirty workshop. If your father is a traditional karakul hats maker, you will have a better life sewing in a warmer shop.

According to Unicef, 10% children are forced to work in Afghanistan. According to a recent investigation, it’s the sixth country with the largest rate of child labor.

A regulation adopted in 2007 by the local government allows those who already are 14 years old to become apprentices. But after walking around markets in Kabul, it’s easy to see that very young children skip school to support their parents at work.