"They Bear All the Pain"

Helal, 10, works as a brick maker at a brick kiln outside Kabul. He told Human Rights Watch that the brick mold is heavy and his hands hurt working with wet clay. Helal doesn’t go to school because he has to work.
Helal, 10, works as a brick maker at a brick kiln outside Kabul. He told Human Rights Watch that the brick mold is heavy and his hands hurt working with wet clay. Helal doesn’t go to school because he has to work.    © 2016 Bethany Matta/Human Rights Watch
A young boy sells small items on the streets of Kabul. Thousands of children work on the streets of the Afghan capital selling cigarettes, chewing gum, and other merchandise, or working as shoe shines.
A young boy sells small items on the streets of Kabul. Thousands of children work on the streets of the Afghan capital selling cigarettes, chewing gum, and other merchandise, or working as shoe shines.  © 2016 Bethany Matta/Human Rights Watch
Brick makers feed coal into the kilns at a brick factory outside of Kabul. Children often start as young as 5 and work 12-hour days.
Brick makers feed coal into the kilns at a brick factory outside of Kabul. Children often start as young as 5 and work 12-hour days.  © 2016 Bethany Matta/Human Rights Watch
Hazrat Hussain, 10, loads bricks onto a truck. Hazrat doesn’t go to school and works alongside his two teenage brothers at a brick kiln outside Kabul.
Hazrat Hussain, 10, loads bricks onto a truck. Hazrat doesn’t go to school and works alongside his two teenage brothers at a brick kiln outside Kabul.   © 2016 Bethany Matta/Human Rights Watch
Helal, 10, works as a brick maker at a brick kiln outside Kabul. Helal doesn’t go to school because he has to work to help his family, who are bonded laborers. The family must pay off a debt for an advance they received when they accepted work as brick ma
Helal, 10, works as a brick maker at a brick kiln outside Kabul. Helal doesn’t go to school because he has to work to help his family, who are bonded laborers. The family must pay off a debt for an advance they received when they accepted work as brick makers.  © 2016 Bethany Matta/Human Rights Watch
Children weave carpets at looms in West Kabul. Weavers sit in one position for hours and perform repetitive motions using sharp equipment, risking injury.
Children weave carpets at looms in West Kabul. Weavers sit in one position for hours and perform repetitive motions using sharp equipment, risking injury. © 2016 Bethany Matta/Human Rights Watch
Carpet weavers use equipment that includes a hook attached at the end of a sharp knife, and sometimes injure their hands or eyes.
Carpet weavers use equipment that includes a hook attached at the end of a sharp knife, and sometimes injure their hands or eyes.   © 2016 Bethany Matta/Human Rights Watch
Marina, 15, left, and her sister, who is also under 18, work on a carpet loom at home in central Bamiyan province. Marina and her 10 siblings earn the family’s income through carpet weaving.
Marina, 15, left, and her sister, who is also under 18, work on a carpet loom at home in central Bamiyan province. Marina and her 10 siblings earn the family’s income through carpet weaving. © 2016 Bethany Matta/Human Rights Watch
Marina, 15, works on a carpet loom at their home in Bamiyan province. Marina told Human Rights Watch that she coughs from inhaling wool dust.
Marina, 15, works on a carpet loom at their home in Bamiyan province. Marina told Human Rights Watch that she coughs from inhaling wool dust.  © 2016 Bethany Matta/Human Rights Watch
Mustafa, 14, cuts sheet metal at a workshop in Kabul. Sheet metal workers risk cuts and injuries from the metal’s sharp edges and from handling equipment designed for adult hands.
Mustafa, 14, cuts sheet metal at a workshop in Kabul. Sheet metal workers risk cuts and injuries from the metal’s sharp edges and from handling equipment designed for adult hands.  © 2016 Bethany Matta/ Human Rights Watch
Mustafa, 14, and Hamid, 13, hammer sheet metal at a workshop in Kabul. Children continue to work in the sheet metal industry despite a government ban prohibiting them from working in hazardous industries.
Mustafa, 14, and Hamid, 13, hammer sheet metal at a workshop in Kabul. Children continue to work in the sheet metal industry despite a government ban prohibiting them from working in hazardous industries.  © 2016 Bethany Matta/ Human Rights Watch
A young boy working at a metal workshop in Kabul hammers a metal sheet into a desired bend. © 2016 Bethany Matta/Human Rights Watch.
A young boy working at a metal workshop in Kabul hammers a metal sheet into a desired bend.     © 2016 Bethany Matta/Human Rights Watch
Students at Kabul’s Muhammad Alam Faizzad High School walk toward their classrooms. Many students at this and other schools across Afghanistan are forced to combine the heavy burden of work and school, which often compels students to quit school.
Students at Kabul’s Muhammad Alam Faizzad High School walk toward their classrooms. Many students at this and other schools across Afghanistan are forced to combine the heavy burden of work and school, which often compels students to quit school.   © 2016 Bethany Matta/Human Rights Watch
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