Poverty and unemployment drive children in Nangarhar out of classrooms

Worsening poverty and unemployment in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province are forcing thousands of children into hard labor, depriving many of them of the education they need to break the cycle of hardship.

In Jalalabad city alone, dozens of children can be seen working in the streets from dawn to dusk — polishing shoes, selling goods, or collecting recyclables — instead of attending school.

For many, their daily income determines whether their families can afford a single loaf of bread. Some are the sole breadwinners for their households, saying they have no choice but to work in order to provide what they describe as a “halal livelihood” for their loved ones.

Civil society activists describe the trend as alarming and warn that the number of child laborers continues to grow. They are calling for comprehensive, sustained programs to remove children from exploitative work and return them to classrooms.

Officials at Nangarhar’s Department of Labor and Social Affairs insist they are making progress, noting that recent initiatives have begun to reduce the number of working children.

One effort by the Islamic Emirate involves gathering child laborers and providing them with vocational training. However, experts caution that such measures fall far short of the scale of support and educational access needed to protect children’s welfare.

Afghanistan is in the grip of one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with decades of conflict, economic collapse, and natural disasters driving millions into poverty.

The UN estimates that more than half of the population faces acute food insecurity, while unemployment remains widespread. In rural and urban areas alike, families often rely on children to supplement or replace lost income, perpetuating a cycle in which poverty forces children out of school and into low-paid, hazardous work.