Child labour remains an issue across North Africa, despite efforts
Following the World Day against Child Labour, Morocco has launched a new campaign to raise awareness of children’s fundamental rights under the patronage of the King’s sister Lalla Meryem, reports the Moroccan government-friendly Hespress on June 12th.
Morocco has made good progress on this issue, with a 59.1% reduction in working children since 2017, but it is estimated that over 100.000 minors between 7 and 17 remain in employment, sometimes in dangerous conditions such as construction or dealing with heavy machinery in the agricultural sector.
A large proportion have also been taken out of education, particularly in rural areas, due to poverty and a lack of support in school.
The “little maids” phenomenon, through which dozens of thousands of girls from impoverished backgrounds were forced to work for wealthy families, is now illegal since the law on Domestic Workers was passed by the Moroccan parliament in 2016, setting the minimum legal age at 18.
However, it is thought that a large number of young girls are still being exploited, with employers now keeping them home to avoid being reported.
Morocco also hosted a global conference on the elimination of Child Labour in 2026, becoming a leader on this issue in the Arab World.
Algeria has similarly reaffirmed its commitment to end child labour, with several measures focusing on supporting struggling families and maintaining children in education.
However, there are no reliable statistics on the number of children working in informal settings. Recent checks on private companies only brought to light two cases of minors being employed, but the large number of children selling items in the street or at markets shows that the issue is far from resolved, despite the minimum legal age for work being 16.
Local children’s rights groups have also raised the alarm on the issue of children being exploited and forced into begging in urban centres.
Hespress, Le Matin d’Algérie, Courrier International, Maghrebi.org
Want to chase the pulse of North Africa?
Subscribe to receive our FREE weekly PDF magazine
