Handicap International experience in Afghanistan - CBM

Figure 37: Distribution of Active Persons with Disability and Non-DisabledAccording to Monthly Per Capita Income3025201510500 AFAs 100 to1000AFAs1100 to2000AFAsActive All Ages2100 to3000AFAs3050 to4000AFAs4050 to5500AFAs6000AFAs andmore302520151050Active Age 15-640 AFAs 100 to1000AFAs1100 to2000AFAs2100 to3000AFAs• Children with Disability• Non Disabled3050 to4000AFAs4050 to5500AFAs6000AFAs andmoreChildren withdisabilityinvariablycontribute tohousehold tasks,in the field or inother work. Itis gender morethan disabilitythat affectstheir choicesand especiallytheir accessto education.However, the mainconcern remainschild labourConclusions & RecommendationsTo Sum Up:• The Afghan labour market is characterised by a dominant agricultural sector, which employs the majorityof the Afghan work force. Men with disability are only a little more than a majority of working people.A large majority of women do not have income generating employment.• On the other hand, children with disability aged 6-14 do work: they are just as many as non-disabledchildren in all jobs except fieldwork. Almost half of them contribute to household tasks.• Persons with disability, when they participate in the labour market, are present in the same professionsas other Afghan workers. Yet, they occupy the most precarious positions: occasional workers, familyhelpers, etc. They also earn lower wages, especially women with disability.• Disabled men do not work due to their impairment. Finding the way to allow them to contribute to thefamily welfare by their activity is a step towards alleviation of poverty.• Access to employment for persons with disability is an effective way to fight poverty, reduce vulnerability,and strengthen social inclusion. Whenever a person contributes to the family welfare, his/her socialstatus within the family improves.Steps Ahead:Children’s WorkChildren’s work is common all over Afghanistan. Children with disability invariably contribute to householdtasks, in the field or in other work. It is gender more than disability that affects their choices and especiallytheir access to education. However, the main concern remains child labour, 36 children who are earning incomeoutside of the family circle and who are contributing to the running of the household. The NDSA, being ahousehold survey, does not provide results regarding street children in big cities, who are cut off from theirfamilies. Specific measures will be needed to adequately comprehend and tackle this issue.Promoting school for children is the best way to reduce child labour. However, it is a long process. By knowingto read and write, developing analytical skills and critical thinking, these children are more able to deal withtheir environment and get better working conditions in the future.Social Valorisation and Acceptance Through WorkIn a society where resources are scarce and living conditions are hard, access to remunerated activity remainsthe first factor towards changing age-old attitudes. This strongly challenges the belief that persons with36Publications and documents of the International Labour Office define child labour as both paid and unpaid work and activitiesthat are mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children. It is work that deprives them of opportunitiesfor schooling or that requires them to assume the multiple burdens of schooling and work at home and in other work places; andwork that enslaves them and separates them from their family. This is meant by child labour - work carried out to the detriment andendangerment of the child, in violation of international law and national legislation.50 Understanding the Challenge Ahead