AIHRC Survey Reveals 16% Sexual Abuse of Children

According to a survey conducted by Afghanistan’s Human Rights Commission in 25 provinces of the country, 16 percent of child labor have experienced sexual abuse in Afghanistan.

“28 percent of the interviewers have told they are forced into hazardous labor,” Chairman of Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) Sima Samar said Tuesday. “16 percent of the interviewers have told they have been sexually abused.”

Based on the survey, the extreme poverty of Afghan families is the main reason why the families have driven their children into labor work.

The labor work has prevented 56 percent of children from going to school.

Head of the AIHRC added that 90 percent of labor children are working more than 35 hours in a week while 10 percent works during the night as well.

Ahmad and Ataullah are two of the thousands of children who work under pressure.

They start work in the morning until late night to provide food for their family members.

“I like go to school, but my father is sick and there is no one to work except me,” Ataullah said.

According to the statistics of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, more than six million children are at risk in the country that 1.1 million of them are busy with labor work.