PHOTO / WORLD
Afghan children swap school for child labor to survive
By Xinhua Published: Jun 12, 2026 01:37 PM
An Afghan child works at a brick factory in Kabul, Afghanistan, June 9, 2026. As the international community observes the World Day Against Child Labor on June 12, millions of Afghan children are leaving school to work in brick kilns, markets, construction sites, and workshops, driven by grinding poverty that has upended families across the poverty-stricken country. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

An Afghan child works at a brick factory in Kabul, Afghanistan, June 9, 2026. As the international community observes the World Day Against Child Labor on June 12, millions of Afghan children are leaving school to work in brick kilns, markets, construction sites, and workshops, driven by grinding poverty that has upended families across the poverty-stricken country. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)


Afghan children work at a brick factory in Kabul, Afghanistan, June 9, 2026. As the international community observes the World Day Against Child Labor on June 12, millions of Afghan children are leaving school to work in brick kilns, markets, construction sites, and workshops, driven by grinding poverty that has upended families across the poverty-stricken country. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

Afghan children work at a brick factory in Kabul, Afghanistan, June 9, 2026. As the international community observes the World Day Against Child Labor on June 12, millions of Afghan children are leaving school to work in brick kilns, markets, construction sites, and workshops, driven by grinding poverty that has upended families across the poverty-stricken country. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)


Afghan children work at a brick factory in Kabul, Afghanistan, June 9, 2026. As the international community observes the World Day Against Child Labor on June 12, millions of Afghan children are leaving school to work in brick kilns, markets, construction sites, and workshops, driven by grinding poverty that has upended families across the poverty-stricken country. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

Afghan children work at a brick factory in Kabul, Afghanistan, June 9, 2026. As the international community observes the World Day Against Child Labor on June 12, millions of Afghan children are leaving school to work in brick kilns, markets, construction sites, and workshops, driven by grinding poverty that has upended families across the poverty-stricken country. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)


An Afghan child works at a brick factory in Kabul, Afghanistan, June 9, 2026. As the international community observes the World Day Against Child Labor on June 12, millions of Afghan children are leaving school to work in brick kilns, markets, construction sites, and workshops, driven by grinding poverty that has upended families across the poverty-stricken country. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

An Afghan child works at a brick factory in Kabul, Afghanistan, June 9, 2026. As the international community observes the World Day Against Child Labor on June 12, millions of Afghan children are leaving school to work in brick kilns, markets, construction sites, and workshops, driven by grinding poverty that has upended families across the poverty-stricken country. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)