For decades, Egyptian filmmakers have tried to shed light on child labor, the conditions that compel them to enter the labor market and the dangers they face as a result of this, especially since Egypt was ranked first in the Arab world in this field given the large population.

The International Labor Organization has estimated that there are about 2.8 million children in Egypt working in various fields, ranging in age from 12-17 years, which is almost equal to the number shown by the last official Egyptian statistics in 2010.

By the International Day to Combat Child Labor this year, and as the United Nations and its partners strive to end this problem in 2025, the Covid-19 pandemic comes to increase fears that this goal will not be achieved due to its negative impacts on the living conditions of millions.

Added to this are the wars, migrations and displacement waves that have afflicted many countries in the Middle East and North Africa, giving strong indications that the number of working children around the world today, which is estimated at more than 152 million, is expected to increase.

In this context, we review the most important Egyptian films that dealt with the problem of child labor, with the need to point out that there are many other films and series that dealt with this topic directly or indirectly.

Street boys (1951)

Written and starred and directed by Youssef Wahbi, he holds, according to some critics, many revolutionary ideas according to the criteria of that period. Wehbe considered that children are victims of their societies, and he went on to say that solving the problem starts with knowing the reasons for its occurrence.

The film shows several cases of children being forced to work, and subjected to abuse and exploitation during those acts, including an unknown child who was found lying near a dump of garbage, and there are others who are severely beaten by their parents to force them to steal or beg, and the film also turns to a father who wants to kill his son In revenge for his ex-wife.

A number of stars participated in the film, notably Madiha Yousry, Farid Shawky, Zouzou Madi, Siraj Munir, and others.

Dahab (1953)

Directed by Anwar Wajdi, starring the miracle child, Fayrouz, Ismail Yassin, Zeenat Sedky, and others, and it is considered one of the most important films through which Egyptian cinema began to present the problems of society, such as family disintegration and poverty, which lead many children to work in the street.

The events revolve around a baby girl abandoned by her father to ward off the scandal, because he gave birth to him from his servant, to find a poor musician begging to secure a living and raise and educate the profession.

They made me a criminal (1954)

It was written and starred by Farid Shawqi in partnership with many representatives who are leaders in the artistic scene at the time, such as Hoda Sultan and Yahya Shaheen.

The film tells the story of a young man who did not find enough family attention to continue in his life properly, especially after his uncle seized his wealth and wasted it in noisy parties.

These circumstances led the young man to lose and work in the "pickpocket", which necessitated his entry into a juvenile correctional facility, to accuse him after he left it unjustly of the murder, and then the circumstances lead him to kill his uncle, who is already a criminal.

Orcs (1990)

The singer Amr Diab starred, and tells the story of a little girl who is kidnapped by a gang who kidnapped and forced her to work in begging, and calls her "Baliya" to become the focus of Amr Diab's song in this movie, "Go back Baliya."

The film is directed by Hossam El Din Mostafa, and starring Madiha Kamel, Amr Diab and Naima Al-Sagheer.

The Woods (2008)

Written by Nasser Abdel Rahman and directed by Ahmed Atef. It revolves around a group of street children gathered by poor conditions of life and varied ways of getting money, such as begging and working in prostitution and drugs, and monitor the motives that led them to those behaviors.

Live Skin (2010)

A 56-minute documentary film written and directed by Fawzi Saleh and starring a group of children.

He discusses the danger of tanning work for children in an atmosphere of toxic substances, and the reasons that led them to take this hard work.

There is no doubt that the Egyptian cinema played an important role in conveying the reality of society and the problems that it suffers from, but the issue of child labor needs more than that to reduce it, just as it is the case of laws that prohibit child labor without addressing the economic and social causes that lead to this.