Child labor under the age of 17 is one of the most significant problems in the agricultural sector in Iraq, and one of the most important causes this problem is the poor financial situation of families who live in the countryside and the lack of job opportunities. Therefore, these families employ their children in agricultural work. The reluctance to go to schools to receive education, despite the fact that education is free in Iraq in public schools, so poor families cannot send their children to schools, as most children work in the field of clearing weeds in agricultural lands, harvesting, grazing animals and marketing agricultural products, whether animal or vegetable, which exposes them to many risks and thus not exercise their rights as children.
The most important right is to receive education in the right way which will benefit them in the future. Unfortunately, although education is free in Iraq, there are some obstacles for children to go to school, including the small number of schools in rural areas and the distance and unpaved roads that make it difficult for children to reach schools, especially in rainy days, as well as schools are small and unqualified to accommodate a large number of students, forcing some students to leave education and go to work in agriculture helping their families in making a living, as well as the lack of financial support for poor families by the government to meet their needs, so these families needed child labor.
Child labor has increased considering the Corona 19 COVID pandemic, the interruption of attendance and the trend for e-learning, which some students and their families are ignorant of.
It is necessary to put some proposals to find solutions to get rid of this difficult problem, even if the solution requires a long time, but it is necessary to try working for these children to enjoy their most basic rights, which is education and a decent living. Governments must establish laws regarding child labor under the age of 17 years for both males and females, and help and support poor families financially to stop child labor and make sure that their children are sent to schools to receive education. Governments should also raise awareness among rural families in terms of the importance of their children to continue to receive education because of its importance in improving their lives in the future. At the same time, they should provide them with information about occupational safety and health and what are the appropriate tasks for children that they can perform at any age and inform them of the risks that children face during their work. Furthermore, they should support food prices for these families and build a number of schools or rehabilitate existing schools and provide them with teaching staff while providing the necessary study supplies free of charge and paving the roads leading to schools are also important, as well as taking advantage of the summer vacation by engaging them in educational courses to develop their abilities, including teaching children. Using the computer in e-learning and other applications after equipping them with it and sewing courses for girls and other cottage industries in return for material wages, even if they are few, to motivate them to participate in such important courses, as well as paying attention to agricultural marketing operations, both plants and animals, to facilitate the families working in marketing bossiness helping them marketing products to local markets and give up the need employ their children.
The United Nations organizations, the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization must play an important and effective role in assisting low-income countries in the proposed solutions that were referred to in order to achieve the desired goals in reducing or eliminating the phenomenon of child labor and advancing their human and social rights.
Hassanein Hawi Kadum