Afghanistan: Where Children Work and Starve

Afghanistan

Population: 32,225,560 | Christian percentage: Unknown Dominant religion: Islam | Persecution ranking 10

June 12 was the annual World Day Against Child Labor, which brought scrutiny to every country, especially Afghanistan. Though its percentage of child laborers hasn’t changed dramatically in the past couple of years, Afghanistan stands out. The International Labor Organization reported that nineteen percent of Afghan children are working, a very high percentage for any country.

Afghanistan is one of the world’s poorest countries. It is in the beginning stages of recovering from nearly 40 years of war. The economy is primarily agricultural. Frequent droughts and floods easily wipe out needed harvests. Farming is not feasible on much of the land. When harvests go bad, families must have their children work to help them eke out a bare existence. Though fewer children are forcefully recruited to fight, now that the civil war is over, children commonly work as shoe shiners, car washers, and brick makers. The latter involves moving heavy wheelbarrows of sand and soil, forming the bricks, and stacking them. Such work requires strength and burns energy, so they need more food.

Food is often scarce. Save the Children tells us that 6.4 million Afghan children will face a food emergency this year. Halfway through this year, Save the Children treated 7,000 Afghan children for malnutrition.

Government Action … and Inaction

Their Education Minister, Mohammad Ibrahim Shinwari, stated that education is the key to progress. The actions of Afghanistan’s Taliban government run counter to this goal.

This is especially true for female students. While they were fighting to take power in Afghanistan, Taliban fighters shut down girl’s schools just like they did when they held power in the 1990s. Believing that educating girls runs counter to the teachings of the Koran, the Taliban government has done nothing to help girls get an education past sixth grade. To make things worse, poor Afghans often have their daughters marry at a young age. They leave school and begin household chores. Boys who are fortunate enough to attend school sometimes face harsh corporal punishment, causing them to stop attending school.

One of the changes Afghanistan must make is aiding rather than hindering child education. Changes are easier said than done when they face dire poverty. Still, it is needed if Afghanistan will have a better future. That will mean changing their worldview to one that recognizes the image of God in each person.

Let us pray fervently for:

  • Pray for a new mindset among government officials and family leaders that allows children to thrive physically and spiritually (The Bible, Mark 10:13-16).
  • Pray for a record harvest for Afghan farmers this year so they can see God’s power and have the resources to send their children to school (The Bible, Amos 4:7 ).
  • Pray for the Holy Spirit to move in Afghanistan, causing them to see their need for the only Savior of sin-stained mankind (The Bible, John 4:42).

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