Forced To Work: The Heartbreaking Conditions of Child Labor in Iran
by Pardis Parsa — 30July2024
Child labor is a pervasive issue in Iran, with girls being forced to drop out of school, facing sexual harassment, and experiencing physical harm and malnutrition in their work environments. This report is based on interviews with eight such girls, who share their experiences and the challenges they face daily.
Throughout the day, in the corners of streets and alleys in most Iranian cities, we see children selling items like tissues, flowers, socks, gum, and bubble makers, or performing tasks like cleaning car windows and weighing people. These children are deprived of a normal childhood, often unable to attend school regularly, and their mental, physical, and social health is at risk. They face threats and harassment daily, with fear, escape, and anxiety being a part of their everyday lives.
While it is generally assumed that boys are more involved in labor than girls, the difference is marginal. Moreover, girls, in addition to working on the streets, also perform household chores like cooking and cleaning. Interviews with some of these girls working on the streets of Tehran reveal that they are forced into labor by their families from a young age and often have no desire to work.
The Struggles of Working Girls
Mahshid, a 14-year-old girl who sells socks on the street, shares her experience: “We should be studying, not listening to people’s words. One says go away, I have no money. They call us beggars. They think badly of children. They think we are thieves. They are very unfair. If you don’t buy, at least don’t swear. That’s why I don’t like working outside at all. I work because I am forced to.”
Zahra, an 8-year-old girl selling flowers at an intersection, and Marjan, a 10-year-old girl whose parents are Afghan, also express their dislike for work. They share how work exposes them to feelings of humiliation and shame, and how they were forced into it by their siblings or parents.
“The work is bad; I don’t like it at all. The municipality is chasing people. Some people touch us.”
— Zahra, 8 years old.
“In our family, no one has the right to study…”
With the rising cost of school fees and stationery, working children are often forced to drop out of school. Poverty compels families to push their children into forced labor from a young age, and the lack of support outside the family eventually leads them to quit school. Although the daily income of these children ranges from 200 to 600 thousand tomans (approximately $47 to $142 US), they often put all their income at the disposal of their families. Many of them face violence from their parents if they insist on studying.
Mahshid says, “In our family, no one has the right to study, not even my seven-year-old sister.” This statement encapsulates the harsh reality of child labor in Iran, where education is a luxury that many cannot afford. Child laborers in Iran are highly susceptible to physical harm and diseases due to their work conditions. They face issues such as injuries, cuts, fractures, amputations, burns, skin diseases, vision and hearing impairments, respiratory and digestive diseases, poisoning, malnutrition, fever, severe nausea, earaches, backaches, skin dryness, dizziness, and headaches from working in hot environments. They also live in polluted and unsanitary environments, exposing them to various infectious diseases and potentially sexually transmitted diseases due to sexual assault.
Kolsoum, a 10-year-old interviewed at a metro station, complains of frequent pain in her side and feet due to constantly sitting on the ground or moving from one metro to another. She sometimes feels nauseous. Child laborers, due to financial difficulties and early employment, lack proper health conditions. If they fall ill, they rarely visit a doctor or follow up on necessary treatments. Mahshid shares her health struggles, including frequent nosebleeds and trembling hands and feet in the mornings. She had to stop her medical treatment halfway due to lack of money.
These children and their families often lack health insurance, making medical expenses unaffordable for them. As a result, they often resort to home remedies, traditional medicine, and rest at home instead of seeking professional medical help. Setareh, a 15-year-old, says they only visit a doctor when their condition is extremely bad, like after an accident or a fracture. Otherwise, they can’t afford the hospital fees or doctor’s charges. Her mother knows some home remedies that help them recover.
Child labor is a factor that can affect their growth process and nutritional status. These children often start working at very young ages and usually have only one nutritious meal a day. They may remain hungry for many hours during the day and throughout their work, and may not have access to clean drinking water. Zahra and Firoozeh share their experiences of relying on unhealthy snacks like chips and cakes to satiate their hunger during the day, and only having a proper meal once they return home at night.
Perpetually At Risk
Working girls are exposed to many forms of physical, sexual, and verbal violence. They lose the opportunity to develop their talents and abilities due to the unsafe environments they work in. They encounter various individuals from different social strata who may expose them to unpleasant experiences and even exploit them in mafia-like gangs. Their presence on the streets and their encounters with people who are not their peers in terms of age and intellect can lead to bitter experiences that will have long-term negative effects on their lives and pose a threat to their mental health.
These girls are subjected to violence such as beatings, insults, reprimands, contemptuous looks, ridicule, hearing inappropriate sexual remarks, or even sexual assault and rape. Setareh and Mahshid share their experiences of harassment and abuse on the streets, including men making inappropriate advances and propositions.Child laborers in Iran face a significant fear of welfare and municipality officials. Many have had encounters with these officials, and some have spent time in welfare institutions. The primary reason for their collection by these institutions is their work on the streets, despite not having committed any crimes. The interviewed girls expressed a strong fear of welfare institutions, often remaining silent when asked about them. Their collection by welfare and municipality officials is often violent, causing terror and distress among the girls. One of the reasons the working girls dislike the welfare environment is the practice of cutting or shaving their hair.
The girls’ perception of welfare institutions is negative, influenced by the treatment they receive and the stories they hear from other children about the behavior of welfare officials. They view these institutions as places that strip them of their attachments and affections. Another fear is the oppressive atmosphere of the welfare institutions and being removed from the open and free urban environments, which is in stark contrast to their current situation. Many of these girls perceive life in welfare as monotonous, aimless, and lacking dynamism. They find the environment extremely oppressive and unpleasant and do not consider the institution supportive.
Article 79 of Iran’s labor law prohibits the employment of children under 15. Iran has also signed the global child rights convention and accepted obligations related to child labor. However, in recent decades, there has been a significant increase in child labor. There are no reliable statistics on child labor in Iran. The latest official statistics from the Ministry of Cooperation, Labor, and Social Welfare’s Center for Strategic Statistics and Information, announced in late 2019, estimated the number of child laborers in Iran at around 500,000. Independent sources and organizations supporting these children, however, speak of millions of child laborers in Iran. According to a child rights activist, “only 10 percent of child laborers are on the streets, and many of them work in workshops or are garbage collectors.” Official reports indicate that the majority of child laborers aged 10 to 14 in Iran are employed in sectors such as “agriculture, forestry and fishing,” “industrial production,” “construction,” “wholesale and retail,” and “vehicle and motorcycle repair.”
