Did you know 152 million kids are part of child labor? Iqbal Masih stopped child labor in a lot of places he is important. The reasons why he is important is because he was sold for 12 dollars when he was four, he escaped where he worked and became an activist, and he was shot but his purpose still goes on.

Sold To Work

The first reason why Iqbal Masih is important is that he was sold for 12 US dollars to work at a carpet factory. When Iqbal was young his family was in debt so when he turned four his father sold him for the equivalent of 12 US dollars to a carpet factory in Pakistan.When Iqbal was sold he worked 12 hours a day 6 day a week was feed very little so they could stay small and work as long as possible and was beaten if he made the slightest mistake." He was both mentally and physically abused" says Forest hills in the document "Iqbal Masih My Hero".

About 20 million kids have to go through this every day. While Iqbal was working he was fed almost nothing so he would stay small so the carpet factory could have him work for as long as possible. If Iqbal did something the carpet factory owners didn't like he was beaten till he had bruises from head to toe and didn’t get food that day. Also, his family never enough money to be out of debt so he had to work until he was ten years old.

Escaped to become an Activist

The next reason why Iqbal Masih is important is because he escaped the factory and became an activist against child labor. “Children should have pens in there hands not tools”(Masih). The first time he tried to escape he went and told the police what had happened but the police brought him back and were told to hang him upside down if he tried to escape again. But one day when Iqbal was 10 he escaped the carpet factory where he was working a man saw him but was too delayed to tell Hussin Khan (carpet factory owner). When he was found, he was found by Ehsan Ullah Khan founder of Bondage Labor Liberation Front or BLLF for short.

After Iqbal escaped he joined BLLF and started making speeches. " I would like to do what Abraham Lincon did... I would like to do it for Pakistan" (Masih). He made speeches in England and in the U.S.A. He made speeches about himself and what he went through working and he talked about kids who suffer while working and he talked about how the carpet industry must be stopped.

Life After Death

When Iqbal returned to Pakistan he was shot. Iqbal was assassinated because he stood up against the carpet factory. He was shot by Ashraf Hero, a heroin addict. Iqbal was shot by his house on Easter weekend in 1995. When he died it was the head of newspapers around the world and everybody heard about it.

After the kids that Iqbal went to school with heard about his death, they decided to do something to stop this from happening again. The kids started the A Bullet Can't Kill a Dream campaign. This is a campaign that helps kids that are suffering from child labor and helps them escape it.

There are many reasons why Iqbal Masih was important such as he was sold to work at a carpet factory when he was four, he escaped the factory and became an activist, and he was shot but his purpose is still alive. How would you feel if you were part of child labor? Probably not happy so why should other people have to be? Help speak up about child labor.