A scar on the world’s conscience in the 21st century, child labor is a social evil and a bane against development. Child labor is ubiquitous, even though it varies in form and degree. Generally regressive in nature, it is a serious global issue worth paying attention to.
Since 2003, June 12th has been chosen as World Day Against Child Labour, to focus on the urgent need to eradicate child labor. The International Labour Organization defines hazardous child labor as – “work which by its nature or the circumstances which it is carried out in, is likely to harm health, safety or morale of the children.”
Working children are vulnerable to extreme exploitation by toiling for long hours for minimal pay. Many of these endure lives of deprivation and suffering. This badly affects their physical, psychological, and moral growth. When we turn the pages of newspapers, we come across various instances of child abuse; either in houses or industries. Child labor is a heinous crime, a punishable offense and yet it is a sad fact that it is largely associated with the rise of industrialization and capitalism.
From the economic point of view, a child is supposed to be the least active member of an economy. Socially, children are the foundation of a nation, and psychologically childhood represents the most tender phase when a child craves love, protection, and freedom in life. And child labor contravenes these 3 aspects if we take the global scenario into account. Child labor is highest in (Sub - Saharan) Africa where (app.) 41% of those aged 5 to 14 work. Asia is led by India where according to the 2011 census, 10 million children in the age group of 5 to 7 are forced into child labor.
Article 24 of the Indian Constitution prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 in hazardous conditions. Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act, 1986 regulates the working hours & wages of children less than 14 years, of working in non-hazardous employment. Immoral Trafficking (Prevention Act) provides for 7 years of imprisonment for recruitment, transportation, transfer harboring of a child for the purpose of exploitation.
There are restrictions, but child labor is so deeply seated in the Indian society that it shows no sign of diminishing. Children are bonded by debt, forced by parents, or even kidnapped and made to work. For families below the poverty line, survival is the sole priority, as a result, children take upon themselves the onerous task of contributing to the family income. The use of bonded labor in the carpet industry, glassware industry, brass industry, and so on is extensive and the conditions in these industries are nauseating.
There is a demand for trafficked children as cheap labor, some estimate, have as many as 1.2 million children being trafficked every year. The condition of a girl child is more precarious than that of a boy. Globally, the circus is one of the most indigenous forms of employment for children. Shouldn't we be ashamed of ourselves? The more we remain indifferent to the situation, the more it will worsen.
India has some of the most active NGOs compared to the rest of the world and has managed to keep these issues at the forefront of national and international issues. Japan, Korea, Indonesia, and Thailand have made considerable progress & India is yet to show a similar result. Children are God’s greatest gift. They are born to live & blossom. They should not be subjugated to unbearable pain. Their hope of making a positive change in their life must be restored. The paradise thus regained will be a better place to live in because - what is done to children, they will do to society.
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