Say NO to Child Labor

Child labor is a curse to humanity and needs to be addressed effectively. The future of any nation is in the hands of its new generation but what if they are is engaged in hazardous labor without education?

Inayat Ali, 10, is suffering from eye sore because he has been exposed to toxic chemicals and extreme heat conditions, involved in a glass molten work place. His mother works as a domestic servant and she has not enough money to get a treatment for his little boy. Today hundreds of millions of children are engaged in labor activities under such harsh conditions, making them deprived of their childhood. These little angels had never been able to seek what is their real potential. They are forced to work because their family is depended on them or the most commonly known factor pushing them to work is their orphan hood.Yet, another school of thought is of the view that in many cases fraudulent adults take advantage of their weaknesses or vulnerability. Lack of opportunities, increased growth rate of population and excessive unemployment are also the factors involved in this vicious cycle.

 There are above 40 million children aged 5-14 in Pakistan.).
The federal bureau of Statistics survey results
found out shows that 3.8 million children out of total 40
million children in this age group in which fifty percent
of these economically active children are in age group
of 5 to 9 years. Interestingly 2.7 million were claimed to
be working in the agriculture sector and 73% of them
were said to be boys.

 

Due to illiteracy and social structure neither the parents nor the children themselves realize that it is against the interests of children and is illegal. Mr. Raja Anwar, Chairman Punjab Education Foundation emphasized that the tragedy of the era is that our society is woven in the cobweb of multi- layered class system that has given birth to worse type of human inequality. All we need is a collective commitment to secure Pakistan's future by focusing at child education. Along with legislation of laws, a vision of society, improved education system and rehabilitation of children involved in abhorrent conditions of child labor is needed for the elimination of the worst forms of child labor. Governments should also back their words with actions because with the passage of time people are forced to have their children work and the major reason is poverty and unstable economic conditions.

The major reason for hiring children in most of the cases is that they are easier to manage
and they complain less. Parents also don't bother to complain to the authorities of illegal
acts because of the fear of losing the little amount received from the labor of their children
to meet their needs.