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Underage and trapped: female Iraqi factory workers need help

A tougher framework is needed to protect Iraqi girls who are working illegally in factories, as many are being exploited, harassed and sexually abused.
Female workers load bricks on a donkey driven cart in a brick factory in the town of Nahrawan east of Baghdad, March 8, 2012. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani     (IRAQ - Tags: SOCIETY BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT ANIMALS) - RTR2Z1E9
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BABIL, Iraq — Shayma Hassan, 16, walks 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) each day to the brick factory in Bahr al-Najaf in the city of Najaf, 161 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad. Her hectic work day starts at 6 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m.

Along with four other women, Shayma moves bricks out of molds and into and out of the oven. For all this hard work, she gets paid $7 per day.

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