Child Labour Is Not A Thing Of The Past In Pakistan
Monday, June 13th, 2016 8:15:22 by modousarr
For most countries in the world, child labour has become a nightmare of the past but in Pakistan, it is the norm to find children under the legal working age toiling in gruelling work conditions. It is sad to know that even after the Childs Rights Movement National Secretariat declared June 12 as World Day Against Child Labour, more than 12.5million children are still being forced into child labour in Pakistan.
As of 2004, over 264,000 children are traded as house helps which effectively errosdes their rights to education and freedom. Most of these children suffer greatly in the hands to those who use them as domestic help.
“There are 8.52 home-based based workers in the country, according to the reports given by the National Policy on Home Based Workers, while over 6 million of them are below 10 years. This growing figure requires immediate measures by the federal and provincial government.”
The government has however taken upon itself that by 2025 Pakistan will be free from all forms of child labour and human trafficking.
The laws available to protect the right of these children are of little use. Child labour occurs in various sectors of the country like agriculture, tourism, construction just to name a few because the list goes on.
Every child goes through certain stages of their life and if any one stage is missing, it affects the child mentally, physically and socially. This also affects the development of the country in great ways because these children are the future of the country.
The social ramifications of having millions of uneducated and marginalised children growing up into adult hood are well documented. These involve increases in crime and violence. The rate of prostitution is also high as female children have already been exposed to a negative lifestyle at a tender age.
The statement from the Child Rights Movement goes on to state that “we Pakistani citizens cannot sit back and watch the future of our children being destroyed without giving them any form of respect and security. If we wish to create a prosperous Pakistan, steps should be taken to get rid child labour completely.”
To be able to get rid of child labour the statement suggests that laws should be enforced and those guilty of such acts should be punished accordingly.
The government was also requested to put in more efforts towards providing quality education and other forms of proection against child labour.
It was acknowledged that powerty is the root cause of child labor in Pakistan which means initiatives creating better jobs for parents are also needed to stop them from having to send their kids to work. Some of these children have to go out to fend for their families.
Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=53286
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