In a harrowing revelation, a UK-based news outlet has shed light on the dire plight of over one million Iraqi children ensnared in the vicious cycle of child labor, perpetuated by crippling poverty afflicting their families.

According to reports from the New Arab, sourced from within the Iraqi Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, a staggering 30 percent of Iraqi families are compelled to rely on the labor of their school-age children, thrusting them into various forms of exploitation to eke out minimal daily wages. These children, often relegated to roles as housekeepers and construction laborers, are ensnared in an insidious web of destitution, with many resorting to illicit activities such as theft, begging, and drug peddling to survive.

Disturbingly, the report underscores the grim reality faced by female children, who are ruthlessly exploited for prostitution and human trafficking in clandestine nightclubs, a dark facet of Iraqi society largely ignored by authorities purportedly entwined with powerful interests.

Ali Bayati, a prominent member of the Iraqi Human Rights Commission, decried the lack of enforcement, monitoring, and punitive measures, which continue to exacerbate the exploitation of vulnerable children.

Economist Hora Yasri, sounding the alarm on the escalating crisis, attributed the pervasive scourge of child labor to the rampant poverty plaguing Iraqi households, where millions languish below the poverty line despite the nation's substantial revenue from oil exports. Yasri warned that failure to address this escalating crisis could precipitate profound social maladies, including soaring illiteracy rates and the erosion of familial structures, posing an existential threat to Iraq's future.

International reports cited by Yasri underscore the staggering scale of poverty in Iraq, with approximately four million Iraqis struggling below the poverty line. Alarmingly, Yasri emphasized that the current state of child labor represents an unprecedented nadir in the nation's history, underscoring the urgent imperative for decisive action to stem this humanitarian crisis before it irreparably scars the fabric of Iraqi society.