Child labor

Instead of many organizations, billions of funds, experiments and efforts to eliminate it, it is still existing in our societies, even practiced in well-developed and well reformed firms. Child labor means when children work illegally, are employed and perform any hard work under age of 14. It is properly monitored and checked by national and international firms even many sanctions are regularly been passed each year for the states having the issue. It is mostly endured in periphery states as compare to core states. According to the estimate in 2004, there are around 138 Million children across globe who are indulged in this harmful act while one third of them are in very hazardous and miserable conditions which are highly effecting them physically, mentally and emotionally.

Child labor is one of the dreadful relic of history as we found its basis when we turn the pages of history. Children were always the easiest, convenient and most reliable tool for landlords and elites as they would be easily manipulated, could be harassed, tortured or attracted in much cheap salaries. It was very common in agriculture sector as in farms instead of heavy machinery, advanced methods children were working in fields. It was very earlier stage but with passage of time, human advancements and with increase of their needs, inventions of new concepts children came out of fields and stepped into industries, factories and larger firms. During the time of industrial revolution substantial change was noticed in child labor and child laboring was introduced in world. Similarly, cultural and religious beliefs also contributed much as in villages there were a concept of more children especially sons for continuing the legacy of their forefathers and helping them in farms or their family business.

Child labor should be controlled as it became a worldwide issue and effecting future of thousands of children. Children are very significant part of society and are future of nation. With their growth and success, a state will ultimately progress but if we will exploit them, misuse them and will not work upon their skills so they will become miserable and ultimate disease for a state. It snatches the autonomy of children. Children skills, creativity and potential is highly demolished after child labor. They are not able to cherish in their future or learn new skills, be a part of innovative world and excel according to world demand and are stuck in same chain of slavery, unemployment, poverty, in much miserable condition, depression and fighting for incomplete needs.

They are trapped by giving them several offers and showing them the bed of roses. Sometimes by wages as they are manipulated that in their childhood they will be self-sufficient and will have a lot of money from which they can fulfill their dreams and feed their family and their pride will be increased because of no dependence on any person. Some religions also encourage them as they want their followers to work from childhood and many more fascinations are there to attract them in working.
It also has many causes like lack of resources, lack of education, gender inequality, poverty and lack of awareness. When families have no one to feed them and there are more people in the family so they are sending their children for jobs. Early marriages are a major cause of child labor because in early marriage responsibility is on them. One of the most painful and significant causes of early child labor is old belief as working is promoted over marriage. Women’s education is discouraged.

Around 61 percent of child labor is in Latin America and Asia. Child labor is incurable because according to an estimate around 22,000 children died during working but the accurate amount is still not mentioned because of hidden labor. Pakistan is much incubated in this issue. Here are some estimations by UNICEF. The 1996 National Child Labor Survey estimated that between 3.3 and 3.6 million Pakistani children were forced into child labor. This number may have risen to as possibly 14 million by 2014, according to more recent estimations; other reports places it at approximately 12 million. About 20% of children in the province within their ages of 5 and 17 took part in child labor, according to the 2018–2019 Sindh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS 6), with greater rates among males and in rural areas. Districts like Mirpurkhas and Kambar Shahdadkot had the greatest cases. There are 69 percent in agriculture while 10 percent in industries and 19 percent in rest of services.

In many countries, some Pakistani children are taken captive or sold into gangs, slave labor, organized begging rings, and sex trafficking. Likewise, traffickers compel children from Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan to take part in drug trafficking, the production of drugs and illicit substances, and the smuggling of goods in border regions. Pakistani children are more vulnerable to child labor as a result of natural disasters. Due to a lack of identity documents that restricts their access to government services, stateless children. While Pakistani children with disabilities are abused for begging, linking them to criminal organizations, Afghan children may engage in collecting scraps. Furthermore, it has been reported that non-state armed groups kidnap children as young as 12 years old, use threats to force parents to turn over their kids, and forcefully enroll kids from madrassas—Islamic religious schools—to spy, fight, and commit suicide.

There are several organizations working to eliminate child labor both nationally and internationally. The ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC) was established in 1992 with a single goal of gradually eliminating child labor. This was to be accomplished by bolstering nations’ ability to deal with the issue and encouraging a global movement to fight child labor. SAARC, Love 146 and many other are working on it.

The conclusion is that Pakistan struggles with child labor despite having anti-child labor laws because of inadequate enforcement, poverty, and an inadequate education system. In order to end the cycle of child exploitation, combating child labor necessitates boosting law enforcement, expanding access to education, and installing customized poverty-reduction policies into effect.