Child Rights Toolkit Workshop: Background Case Scenarios
Case 5. Egyptian cotton
Background case
'Egyptian cotton is synonymous with luxury, yet the reality behind its production is
endemic child labour – up to 1m children are working in the cotton fields each year.” Environmental Justice Foundation
Like hundreds of thousands of other people across Egypt’s Nile Valley, Shaban Abdulal and his
family are bonded to their fields in Zawyat Al Kardsha, the farming community in the oasis that
they call home. Shaban's youngest son, seven-year-old Abdul Rachman is exhausted and
drenched in sweat and dirt. “It is my job to take the worms off the cotton leaves,” he says. “But it
is hard. The worms that eat the cotton are difficult to spot and the earth is dry and dusty. I feel
sick in the heat but I must work. My family needs bread.'
For the children here, education is a luxury their parents cannot afford. In the next month the
fields that cling to the banks of the Nile will be full of children working the cotton for up to 11 hours
a day. Perhaps most alarming is the nature of their work – removing the leafworm/bollworm, the
cotton farmers' nemesis, and handling plants drenched in pesticides. Even though the Agriculture
ministry had made significant strides in recent years to reduce the volume of pesticides applied
on cotton, and had banned the use of several categories of hazardous pesticides, research
conducted by Human Rights Watch found that children resumed work on cotton fields either
immediately after pesticide spraying or after twenty-four to forty-eight hours, a period that falls
short of the recommended intervals for reentry after the use of certain pesticides registered for
use in Egypt. Accurate health studies are thin, but many of the children complain of breathing
difficulties at the height of summer.
An estimated 2.7 million children work across the country, the majority in agriculture, with more
than 1million hired each year for the cotton harvest, during which they work long hours in 40C
heat. A majority of the children working for cotton co-operatives are between the ages of seven
and twelve. The children's working hours far exceed the maximum six hours per day for which
they may be employed under the Child Law. They earn on average about one U.S. dollar each
day. In a recent UNICEF survey, nearly all children asked reported beatings by foremen in the
fields.
According to most NGOs, eradicating child labour in agriculture in Egypt would be impossible, as
it is traditionally an issue between families. But today many children in the Nile Valley are found to
be victims of modern-day gangmasters, who recruit them from impoverished families to work the
fields from dawn until dusk.
In the west, Egyptian cotton has become a byword for luxury. In terms of prestige nothing comes
close to Egyptian cotton. The US and the UK are Egypt's biggest customers, but India, once a
major client, stopped importing in the 70s, when it attained self-sufficiency. India now grows and
exports its own 'Egyptian cotton'.
Egypt's cotton exports are worth £150m, a business that should be securing the livelihoods of the
farmers. Egypt is a nation of thousands of Shaban Abdulals, trying to survive amid inflation,
corruption, dwindling water resources, high fuel prices and a government that has yet to ease
their burden. Now, the farmers feel besieged on all sides. Their decrepit irrigation systems, which
pump waters from the increasingly depleted Nile, are rusting. The cost of seeds and fertiliser has
soared. Many pay rich landowners ever higher rents for the right to work their modest lands.
Those who own their own simple farms end up with smaller and smaller plots as each
generation's inheritance subdivides farms among several sons.
Like countless other farmers across Egypt, Shaban Abdulal and his friends planted the land with
hybrid cotton seeds fifteen years ago, joining the tail-end of the country's agricultural evolution,
growing a high-yield cash crop destined for world markets. The cotton seeds, unofficially supplied
by a western agricultural giant, were initially a success, but the amount of cotton they were able
to produce kept falling.
Cotton prices have plunged, and the cost of starting each year's crop has jumped. Shaban
Abdulal says the biggest victims of the crisis are his children and his neighbours' children, who,
instead of going to school, now work the fields, on his own smallholding and that of other
landowners. He says he can no longer send his children to school as they must work in the fields
and he was compelled to borrow money from his brother to feed the children for the winter.
While the Egypt Child Law of 1996 bans the employment of children under 14, and regulates the
hours and conditions of those between 15 and 17, it remains largely unenforced. More
importantly, it does nothing to address the root causes propelling youngsters into this line of work.
The essential reason is poverty. According to the UN 2005 Egypt Common Country Assessment,
almost 17 per cent of Egypt's 77.5 million people were living below the poverty line in 2007. The
situation is much worse in Upper Egypt, especially in rural areas where the cotton fields lie.
The Land Centre for Human Rights believes the cotton farmers' intensive farming methods are
coming back to haunt them, exhausting their soil and polluting the irrigated Nile channel waters
that feed it, reducing their annual yields, in many cases, to one-tenth the level they saw a decade
ago. Larger farms can afford to regenerate soil by leaving a third of their fields fallow for long
periods, but this is impossible for tiny family farms. Farmers are yet to shift from the mindset that
cotton is a good economical cash crop.
It is also hurting the environment as the Nile's decline has had a severe impact on farming.
According to Maged George, Egypt's Minister of State for Environmental Affairs, the effects of
global warming will threaten 15 per cent of the land in the Nile Delta by as early as 2020.
“Now, with climate change, we are losing what we have gained over the last many thousand
years, and the livelihoods of millions of farmers are under threat,” says Dr Salah Soliman, a
professor at the Department of Pesticide Chemistry and Toxicology at Alexandria University.
“Grim forecasts are being made about how long they can sustain large-scale irrigation.”
Sources:
-The Observer, Working flat out - the child labour behind your Egyptian cotton sheets, 8 June 2008.
By Dan McDougall
-Human Rights Watch, 2001. Egypt: Cotton Co-Ops Violate Child Labor Laws [1] Children overworked,
mistreated, exposed to pesticides
Case 5. Egyptian cotton
Fact Sheet
Basic facts about child workers and cotton harvest in Egypt
• An estimated 2.7 million children work across the country, the majority in agriculture, with
more than 1million hired each year for the cotton harvest
• These children work up to 11 hours a day in 40C heat.
• A majority of the children working for cotton co-operatives are between the ages of seven and
twelve.
• Children earn on average about one U.S. dollar each day.
• In a recent UNICEF survey, nearly all children asked reported beatings by foremen in the
fields.
• According to most NGOs, eradicating child labour in agriculture in Egypt would be impossible,
as it is traditionally an issue between families.
• Today many children in the Nile Valley are found to be victims of modern-day gangmasters,
who recruit them from impoverished families to work the fields from dawn until dusk.
Government and governmental regulations
• The children's working hours far exceed the maximum six hours per day for which they may be
employed under the Child Law.
• Egypt suffers from inflation, corruption, dwindling water resources, high fuel prices and a
government that has not been responsive.
• The Egypt Child Law of 1996 bans the employment of children under 14, and regulates the
hours and conditions of those between 15 and 17, but it remains largely unenforced.
Poverty
• Many children, instead of going to school, now work the fields, as their families can no longer
send the children to school.
According to the UN 2005 Egypt Common Country Assessment, almost 17 per cent of Egypt's
77.5 million people were living below the poverty line in 2007.
• The situation is much worse in Upper Egypt, especially in rural areas where the cotton fields
lie.
Exposure to pesticides
• Most children work removing the leafworm/bollworm, and handling plants drenched in
pesticides.
• Even though the Agriculture ministry had made significant strides in recent years to reduce the
volume of pesticides applied on cotton, and had banned the use of several categories of
hazardous pesticides, research conducted by Human Rights Watch found that children
resumed work on cotton fields either immediately after pesticide spraying or after twenty-four
to forty-eight hours, a period that falls short of the recommended intervals for reentry after the
use of certain pesticides registered for use in Egypt.
• Accurate health studies are thin, but many of the children complain of breathing difficulties at
the height of summer.
The Egyptian cotton market
• In the west, Egyptian cotton has become a byword for luxury. In terms of prestige nothing
comes close to Egyptian cotton.
• The US and the UK are Egypt's biggest customers, but India, once a major client, stopped
importing in the 70s, when it attained self-sufficiency. India now grows and exports its own
'Egyptian cotton'.
• Egypt's cotton exports are worth £150m, a business that should be securing the livelihoods of
the farmers.
Cotton farmers and the cotton industry
• Farmers feel besieged on all sides. Their decrepit irrigation systems, which pump waters from
the increasingly depleted Nile, are rusting.
• The cost of seeds and fertiliser has soared.
• Many pay rich landowners ever higher rents for the right to work their modest lands. Those
who own their own simple farms end up with smaller and smaller plots as each generation's
inheritance subdivides farms among several sons.
• Cotton prices have plunged, and the cost of starting each year's crop has jumped.
• The Land Centre for Human Rights believes the cotton farmers' intensive farming methods are
coming back to haunt them, exhausting their soil and polluting the irrigated Nile channel
waters that feed it, reducing their annual yields, in many cases, to one-tenth the level they saw
a decade ago.
• Larger farms can afford to regenerate soil by leaving a third of their fields fallow for long
periods, but this is impossible for tiny family farms.
• Farmers are yet to shift from the mindset that cotton is a good economical cash crop.
• The Nile's decline has had a severe impact on farming. According to Maged George, Egypt's
Minister of State for Environmental Affairs, the effects of global warming will threaten 15 per
cent of the land in the Nile Delta by as early as 2020.
Child Rights Toolkit Workshop: Session 1 small group work– Facilitator’s Notes
Case 5. Egyptian cotton
1. Causality Analysis
Problem
statement
Child labour and poor health of children working in cotton production in Upper
Egypt
Immediate
Causes




Impacts on health from exposure to pesticides, heat, lack of food and water
Household poverty
Lack of access to quality health care
Lack of access to quality education
Underlying
Causes


Costs of education
Ag production financing (requires high front end out of pocket expenditures
)
Management of agricultural inputs ( non-reusable seed)
International demand for product
Tradition of cotton farming (honorable respected work in the region)
Agricultural inputs
Unenforced child labour laws and conditions of work
Lack of Education For All policy framework (free and eventually compulsory)
Lack of leadership in agriculture and health sectors to protect children from
exposure to harmful agricultural inputs
Pressure on agricultural sector to achieve export – led economic growth
strategy
Inadequately negotiated trade agreements (both importers and exporters
have a role to play)
Intergenerational poverty in Upper Egypt
Root/structural
Causes










2. Capacity Gap Analysis
Level/type
of duty
As defined
in relation to
the issue at
hand and
local
situation
Role-pattern
analysis
Who is
supposed to do
what to help
solve the
problem?
Immediate
care giver
1. Make sure
that the children
are protected
from impact of
exposure to
harmful
substances.
2. Take all
necessary
action to enroll
children in
school support
their effective
participation.
3. Report
impact of
Capacity and gap analysis
Motivatio
n
Does the
dutybearer
accept the
responsibi
lity? If not,
why?
Yes
Parents in
UE are
committed
to their
children’s
education
and
working in
cotton
production
interferes
with
enrolment
and
completio
Authority
Does the
duty-bearer
have the
authority to
carry out the
role? If not,
who does?
Yes
Parents are
responsible
for enrolling
their children
in school and
providing all
support
materials.
Resources
Does the duty-bearer have knowledge,
skills and organizational, human, financial
and materials resources? If not, what is
missing?
Knowledge
Organization Financial
and skills
al and
Resource
human
s
resources
No
No
No
Parents may
The
Farm
not be
administrative families
sufficiently
and financing
do not
knowledgeab arrangements have
le about the
are a barrier
access to
harmful
to effective
funds
impacts of
parental
necessary
exposure to
advocacy with to
pesticides to
authorities.
advocate
be able to
or access
advocate
health
effectively.
care for
affected
children.
working in
cotton
production to
the relevant
authorities.
All members of
the household
should care for
the health
needs children
and support
access to
education.
Monitor the
situation of
children
working in
cotton
production and
advocate for
action by the
government
and
international
partners
n.
Communit
y group
Household
Yes
Same as
above
Yes
Same as
above
Yes
Same as
above
No
Same as
above
No
Same as
above
Yes
Same as
above
Yes
Same as
above
Yes
Same as
above
No
however
leaders
may not
need
significant
financial
resources
to be
effective
advocates
.
Same as above
Yes
Same as
above
TBD -
Yes
Same as
above
Yes
Leaders have
access to
political
leaders and
possibly
business
leaders as
well to
advocate for
mitigation
actions and
adherence to
child labour
laws.
Yes
Same as
above
Local
governmen
t
1.Monitor the
situation of
children and
produce timely
and accurate
analytical
reports to
national and
international
authorities
2. Ensure that
the voices of
child advocates
are heard and
their views
included in
monitoring and
reporting.
Yes,
depending
on level of
decentrali
zation
Yes however
LG may need
additional
information
about good
practice in
other cotton
growing
countries.
Yes however
LG may need
technical
assistance to
manage the
monitoring
and
evaluation
systems.
No
Same as
above
National
governmen
t
Undertake a
child impact
assessment in
conjunction with
policy dialogue
on the role of
cotton exports
in national
Yes.
Govt is
committed
to
achieving
sustained
economic
growth
Yes,
Depending on
the level of
decentralizati
on local
education and
health
managers
could
advocate for
modifications
in the
treatment of
child workers
and for
adherence to
child labour
laws and
workplace
health and
safety
standards
Yes
Govt has
ratified all
relevant
international
treaties that
protect
children from
Yes
Govt has
wealth of
technical
expertise in
the ag sector.
Yes
Govt has a
strong
agriculture
extension and
outreach
capability.
Yes
Govt has
access to
resources
to acquire
knowledg
e and
technolog
Religious,
social and
cultural
leaders
No
Same as
above
Internation
al
growth
strategies.
2. Together with
the private
sector
producers of ag
inputs (seed
and fertilizer)
consider
technical
adjustments to
the products
used by
children
3. Together with
private sector
and labour
organizations
consider
alternatives to
involvement of
young children
in cotton
production.
3. Train
education and
heatlh sector on
impacts of
participation in
cotton
production on
children’s
health and
readiness for
school.
1.Use outcome
of child impact
assessments in
determining
support for the
child- and
family-friendly
economic
growth
strategies
consistent with
the principle of
the best interest
of the child .
2. Insist on
respect for
international
standards on
child labour and
workplace
health and
safety for all
workers.
3. Ensure that
private sector
actors
recognize their
with
equity,
based in
part on ag
exports.
harmful
practices,
including in
traditional
labour
settings.
Yes
However
intl
partners
are also
supportive
of ag
export
market
and its
role in
economic
growth
Yes
Intl
multilateral
agencies are
committed to
upholding the
commitments
around child
labour and
universal
access to
education and
health.
y that
could be
helpful in
mitigating
the impact
of child
labour in
sthe
Upper
Nile
region.
Yes
Intl partners
– public and
private –
have he
technical
knowledge
required to
mitigate the
impact of
cotton
production in
children.
Yes
Intl partners
have the
capacity to
train ag
workers and
their families
on strategies
for protecting
children from
harm and to
reduce the
reliance on
child labour in
cotton
production.
Yes
Intl
partners
have
financial
resources
to reduce
the
incidence
of child
labour in
cotton
productio
n.
accountability
under
international
law , standards
and practice.
3. Analysis of the Enabling Environment
Guide for analysis of enabling environment
Social norms
A social norm is a rule or behaviour that members of a community follow because there
analysis
are positive social rewards or negative sanctions attached to it.

Policy-gap
analysis
Social acceptability of child labour
Examines the principles and long-term goals that form the basis for making rules and
guidelines, giving overall direction to planning and development.


Few services available to working children and their families aimed at reducing child labour
No child specific policy for “reentry intervals" that reflect children's greater susceptibility to
pesticide absorption and retention

Lack of Education For All policy framework (free and eventually compulsory)

National Strategy for the Elimination of Child Labour and its action plan (2006)

National plan to combat violence against children (2007-2012)
Legislative
Should examine and highlight the degree to which the national legislative framework is
analysis
compatible with the provisions of the CRC, CEDAW and the CRPD.

Egypt Child Law of 1996 bans the employment of children under 14, and regulates the hours
and conditions of those between 15 and 17, but it remains largely unenforced

Egypt has ratified all relevant international treaties that protect children from harmful practices,
including in traditional labour settings.

Child Law (2008) allows seasonal employment of children of 12-14 years of age

The Labour Code does not cover agriculture or domestic work and other forms of work in the
informal sector.
Analysis of
Analyse the share of resources allocated to government functions related to the
budget
realization of children’s rights and the overall distribution of public investments.
allocations and
disbursements

Low public spending on the education sector (2,5 per cent of GDP) perpetuates obstacles to
achieving effective and equal implementation of article 28 of the Convention

Sufficient resources not allocated for free/compulsory education

In 2006, government of Egypt conducted a rights-based tracking of public budgeting for
children.
Institutional
The form and function that public institutions and structures take are a crucial determinant
analysis:
in ensuring a legitimate, effective and efficient framework for the formulation and conduct
structures,
of public policy in support of child rights.
capacities
and
mechanisms

Lack of infrastructure to monitor the conditions of children engaged in leafworm control
operations

No oversight body to examine or hear complaints about the actions of foremen

Low capacity to take disciplinary action against foremen found to have mistreated children in
their care.

Limited capacity of individual ministries to evaluate the effectiveness of activities for the
realization of children’s rights.