(ANSAmed) - RABAT, JUNE 12 - In 2011 over 123,000 Moroccan
children between the ages of 7 and 15 were forced to work - 2.5%
of those in that age group. The figure is one of the ones
included in the national study that the High Commissioner for
the Plan (HCP), Morocco's main institute of statistics, has
published as part of the World Day Against Child Labour, which
is celebrated every June 12. The phenomenon is seen especially
in rural environments, where 5% of children under age 15 are
forced to work (over 91% of the total number of the children
surveyed). Another discriminating factor is gender, with about 6
out of every 10 child workers of the male sex: however, this
proportion varies considerably depending on the social and
living context. In the country, males involved in
''agricultural, fishing or forest activities'' make up 53.3% of
the total. In the cities, where they are used ''in services and
manufacturing, including artisanal trades'', the percentage
rises sharply to 87.3%. Depending on the circumstances and the
type of work (the vast majority is ''help'' of various types for
the family's economic activities), child workers continue to
attend school (24.9%), have left school (53.9%) or have never
attended it (21.2%).
But while much remains to be done in Morocco in the struggle
against child exploitation and in order to foster education, the
data collected can also be seen as good news. Since 1999, the
number of workers under age 15 has dropped steadily. Thirteen
years ago it affected almost 10% of Moroccan children in this
age group, (517,000 children), compared with the current 2.5%.
(ANSAmed).
(ANSAmed).
