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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey is struggling to tackle child labor, with over 700,000 children working in fields and factories despite the country marking the start of the new school year.
Millions of children across Turkey have returned to school, but hundreds of thousands are forced to work to support their families. Near the southeastern Kurdish city of Diyarbakir (Amed), tens of children were working in onion fields during the seasonal harvest, many unaware that the new academic year had begun.
“My father does not send me to school,” said child laborer Hassan Calpan, citing his family’s poor financial condition.
The children working the fields are as young as seven. Some say they work to help their parents make ends meet and also cover the cost of school.
“I am in the fifth grade,” said Cengiz Gul, another child worker. “We are poor,” she added, stating that he would attend school if it were not for limited financial capabilities.
Representatives from the Diyarbakir branch of the Education and Science Workers’ Union gathered in the city center on Monday, urging action to tackle the high rate of child labor in the country.
They also called for the establishment of mobile schools in rural areas to help working children continue their education uninterrupted.
“Those children who start their education two months late ultimately receive no education at all,” said union representative Fasih Zirak.
“Their education is interrupted, always remaining incomplete, and continues to be incomplete year after year, which is very dangerous for their future,” Zirak lamented, stressing that “a high percentage of these children do not achieve success.”
The Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said the poverty rate in 2024 stood at 13.6 percent. Other reports point to rising living costs, especially affecting children and young people.
Turkey has reduced child labor since the 1990s, but the problem remains widespread. At least 720,000 children still work, down from 900,000 in 2018, according to UNICEF. The agency says 4.4 percent of children aged five to 17 are employed, with more than 30 percent in agriculture.
Abdulsalam Akinci contributed to this report.
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