The Representation of Labor Children in the Post-Islamic Revolution Persian Children Fiction

Children and adolescents’ stories in general and street and labor children's stories in particular, via providing an imaginary context, make it possible for the readers not only to empathize with the stories’ characters, but also experience the unpleasant struggles of life in an epistemological manner and expand their life horizon. On the other hand, a meticulous analysis of the orientation toward child labor presented in children’s literature clarifies the changes to mentalities and discourse patterns about this issue over time. This paper was an attempt to find how the phenomenon of child labor has been presented in Post-Islamic children’s Persian fiction. To do so, the content of more than fifty novels and short story collections are analyzed based on sociological approaches. The findings showed that in the traditional and rural areas, child labor is considered as a positive element or stage for adulthood preparation. On the contrary, in the urban and industrial spaces, child labor is regarded as an act of exploitation and assault on the child rights. This transformation coincides with social developments and healthcare services and replacement of agrarian economy by industrial economy.