Entitled "Child Laborers", the exhibition features 23 color photos depicting children who work in Tehran and its suburbs.
"The photos have been taken over the past year," he told the Tehran Times in an interview on Wednesday.
He believes that as a photo journalist he should mainly deal with society's problems such as poverty, racism, addiction, and war.
He tries to show people what's going on in different parts of the world and, when possible, to compel governments to confront these problems and find solutions, he explained.
UNICEF officials and other foreign guests have been invited to attend the exhibition.
“I took photos of these children because I wanted to show everyone the youngsters who have hidden jobs, which are usually harmful to them both physically and psychologically. Most of us have become accustomed to the sight of these children and pass by them without realizing their true situation,” Arfa lamented.
"The least we, as ordinary citizens, can do is not to humiliate these children and not to despise them," he added.
He elaborated on the title of the exhibition, saying that according to UNICEF’s definition, child laborers engage in jobs that negatively affect their health and development or interfere with their education.
He says Iran’s child laborers can be divided into three groups.
“First, there are children who work in factories and workshops. Next are children who work in the streets, like garbage rummagers, beggars, and flower sellers. And finally, children who work in their houses, breaking large sugar cones into small cubes or making artificial flowers,” he said.
He went on to say that a multidimensional, long-term solution is required to eradicate child labor, adding, “Reducing addiction, combating poverty, and increasing public awareness are some of the measures that must be taken.”
Arfa was born in Tehran in 1970. Encouraged by his father, he began taking photographs at the age of eight.
Later, he became the assistant of prominent Iranian photographer Kamran Adl for several years.
In 1988 he began studying nuclear physics at Tehran University. A year later, he started working as a photographer for Danestaniha magazine, where he worked until 1998.
After finishing his BA, he took photos for Iran Newspaper and Iranvich daily.
In the year 2000, he decided to become a freelance photographer.
He has focused his lens on several subjects, including the drug problem in Iran, life in northern Afghanistan, the repatriation of Afghan refugees from Iran, and Iran's martial arts.
His photos have been published all over the world in several magazines and newspapers such as Newsweek, Time, Paris Match, the New York Times, Stern, Der Spiegel, Panaroma, Le Hebdo, and Le Figaro.
His latest exhibition will run until February 5 at the Asar Gallery, which is located on Barforushan St., off of Iranshahr St.
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MNA