At least 91 child workers have lost their lives while working so far this year. Seventeen-year-old Afghan worker Zahra Hosseini died after her headscarf was caught in a machine at the factory where she worked.
Zahra Hosseini, a 17-year-old Afghan national employed at Yıldızbaş Cold Storage Facility in the Karaman Organized Industrial Zone (OIZ), died after her headscarf became entangled in a plastic injection machine. Zahra became the 91st child worker whose death while working has been officially identified this year.
According to available information, the fatal workplace accident occurred when Zahra Hosseini’s headscarf was pulled into the machine while she was working. Other workers who noticed the situation immediately rushed to help and informed the authorities. Following the report, medical teams and police were dispatched to the scene.
Suffering severe injuries, including a broken neck and jaw, Hosseini was taken by ambulance to Karaman Training and Research Hospital. Despite all medical interventions, she could not be saved.
This case highlights the ongoing and systemic failure to protect child workers in Turkey.
Trade unions and human rights organisations in the UK are being urged to raise this issue with the UK government and to lobby for diplomatic pressure on the Turkish government and the Turkish Embassy in the UK, demanding accountability, enforcement of labour laws, and an end to child labour and unsafe working conditions.
