There are approximately 1.2 million child laborers living in Afghanistan today. Many are forced into work by the age of five or six due to the disabling or death of a father. Their mothers, who are often uneducated, find it extremely difficult to find employment. Meanwhile their young children are pulled from school, and become the sole bread winners for their families.
Wake Forest University junior Jawad Wahabzada has seen first-hand an entire generation of young Afghans lose out on their education, and the deteriorating affect it has had on the society. In 1996, when the Taliban took control of Kabul, his father was forced from his government job. Two years later, at the age of seven, Jawad began working in a factory to support his family. For the next four years he, along with dozens of other children, made Persian rugs 8 hours a day in sweatshop conditions.
During a recent trip to Kabul, after observing the continuing problem of child labor there, Wahabzada decided to do something about it. The communication major has teamed up with Wake Forest documentary film graduate John Bougher to create a new documentary film Children of Kabul. Wahabzada hopes to raise awareness through the film. He says that unless the Afghan government and international community provide incentives for families to keep their kids in school, the entire country faces an uncertain future.
Children of Kabul screens at RiverRun International Film Festival on Friday night, April 20.
