At the same time, the officials of the Department of Labor and Social Affairs talk about the increase in the number of orphan children in the city and say that they are working instead of studying.
Bakhtullah Bawar, head of the social security organization of the Khost Department of Labor and Social Affairs, says that many homeless and orphan children have turned to work in the city instead of studying.
Although he points to a survey a few years ago that identified more than 2,000 homeless children in Khost, the number of children working in the central and district markets shows that recently the number of children who have dropped out of school due to working has increased.
‘During the republic government, we conducted a survey. About 2084 children were registered by us.
We have checked almost from Ismaeel Khel Mendozai district, to the city and also from the caravanserai in the Botey area to the car repair shop and other parts of the city.
According to Bakhtullah Bawar, educational centers under the name of ‘Friendly Classes’ were built to raise and educate poor and hardworking children.
According to him, these educational centers were built in the center of Khost and some districts with the efforts of the Department of Labor and Social Affairs and with the cooperation of a number of organizations.
‘We have coordinated with some organizations in some districts, there are child-friendly classes for them to study. For example, there are about 2,000 child-friendly classes in the Espara, Gorbaz, Nader Shah Kot, and Alishir districts.
A large number of children in Khost say that the head of the family has forced them to work to meet the needs of their family and this coercion has prevented them from studying.
10-year-old Bashir, whose father is an old man and has no other source of income, says that he works in the city with his handcart.
‘I’ve been working using my handcart for a month, I’m underweight, and my father is old. I have to leave school and work for my family, school is fun for me, but I can’t study.
Little Asadullah, who works in a car workshop and was studying in the fourth grade, says that if he does not work, his family will not have anything to eat, drink or wear.
I have been working here for six months, I don’t go to school, the work is hard, but I have to. If I have money, I will study.
Aziz Noor, the owner of a hotel in Khost city, says that recently a large number of children come to work every day, but according to the order of the Islamic Emirate, children cannot work in the hotel.
‘People are very poor, children without guardians have many problems, many children come to us for work, but we cannot give them work.’
Social affairs experts say: Society is responsible for children, so it should play a constructive role in raising and supporting children and prohibiting them from doing heavy work.
Spin Rawan Noorzai, an expert on social issues, says: heavy work has a bad effect on the physical and mental development of children.
According to him, recently in this city, homeless children have been doing various works that have hindered their education. He adds: International organizations and the government should spend time educating children.
He added: Recently, the number of homeless and orphan children in urban areas is increasing, which shows that children are not properly cared for in these areas. In this case, not only these children do not have a bright future, but it will also be annoying for society.’
At the same time, legal experts say that when children are left without a guardian, they lose some basic rights, so the government should pay attention to these rights.
Wahab Ayuobi, a professor at the Faculty of Law and Political Science, told Radio Killid that, if children’s rights are not considered, it can negatively affect the personality and life of these children in the future.
He continued: In the future, this can have many negative effects on the child’s personality, one of these effects is the increase in the level of child delinquency in society.
When a child is left without a guardian, he loses the most important and basic rights, such as upbringing, education, food, health services, and other basic rights.
It should be noted that in the past years, due to war and homelessness, many children were forced to work instead of studying, but recently the rate of unemployment and the increase in food prices have increased, and families have been forced to send their children to work, instead of study.
Experts believe that if we don’t pay attention to the life and education of these children, society’s future may be seriously damaged.
Translated by: Shir Ali Jafari
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