According to reports received by the Hana Human Rights Organization, in the early hours of Wednesday, February 19, 2025, a young Kolbar identified as “Hija Shiri,” a 17-year-old from Javanrud, was shot by border guards at the Nosud border and sustained severe injuries to his lower back.
In Iran, under the rule of the Islamic Republic, a significant number of children, instead of pursuing education and developing their awareness and skills for personal and societal advancement, are forced into labor due to extreme poverty and dire living conditions. According to independent reports compiled by child rights and human rights activists, the number of child laborers in Iran is estimated to be around seven million, a figure expected to rise with increasing poverty and inflation.
Kurdistan, as part of this geography, has always suffered from the Iranian government’s flawed economic policies. Systematic national discrimination and structural poverty have resulted in Kurdish provinces consistently ranking among the poorest regions in the country. Kurdish children, in turn, suffer disproportionately from these conditions. Child labor is only one aspect of this devastating reality, but the growing number of child Kolbars—young porters risking their lives in treacherous border crossings—has long become a dire warning for Kurdish society.
Additionally, other interconnected issues such as child soldiers, child abuse, and child marriage further push society toward social and cultural collapse.