ARTICLE NO 03
BY BA GANAIE .
CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA
Worldwide, millions of children are forced into unpaid or paid work that deprives them of an education, a happy childhood and a prosperous future. Learn about the child labour situation in India and what more needs to be done.
According to a study by the ILO, the majority of the world’s child labour (around 71 percent) is done in the agriculture sector, including cotton plantations and rice fields. Around 17 percent are employed as service staff, mainly as domestic workers or in restaurants, and another 12 percent of child labour is spread across jobs in the industry sector, including dangerous activities in mines.
Many child labourers in India are working for starvation wages in textile factories, helping with the processing of carpets, or doing back breaking work in brick making factories and quarries. Other child labourers work selling cigarettes, called “Bidis”, on the street for the tobacco industry. Children are also used for cheap labour in industries such as steel extraction, gem polishing and carpet manufacturing. A staggering number of girls are victims of child trafficking in India, whether through traditional bondage or through organized crime. The commercial sexual exploitation of children is among the worst forms of child labour and in India there are around 1.2 million children involved in prostitution.
Causes of Child Labour:
Poverty: Due to poverty, parents cannot afford the studies of their children and make them earn their wages from a tender age. They are made to work to increase the income of their poor families at the earliest.
Lack of educational resources: There are thousands of villages in our country where there are no proper facilities for education. And if there is any, it is miles away.
Administrative Laxity: Administrative laxity is also responsible for child labor. The worst sufferers are the poor families for whom getting their children educated is a dream.
Addiction, disease or disability: In many families, due to addiction, disease or disability, there is no earning, and the child’s wages are the sole means of family’s sustenance.
Rising Population Growth: Population growth is also increasing unemployment, which has an adverse impact on child labor prevention.
Sexual Exploitation: In 2005, a study was conducted by the National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC) found that India was fast becoming a source, transit point and destination for traffickers of women and children for sexual and non-sexual purposes.
Illegal Activities: Children, over adults are often chosen to be trafficked for illegal activities such as begging and organ trade, as they are seen as more vulnerable.
The lure of cheap labor: In the greed of cheap labor, some shopkeepers, companies and factory owners employ children so that they have to pay less to them and it amounts to employing cheap labor
Consequences / Effects:
Loss of Quality childhood: Child labour leads to loss of quality childhood as children will be deprived of the opportunity to enjoy the amazing experiences that come with being young.
Health Complications: Due to poor working conditions and undernourishment, child labour leads to health complications. Working in places such as mines and badly conditioned factories may result in lifetime health issues for children employed to work in these places.
Mental trauma: Issues such as bullying, sexual exploitation, and unfavorable working hours may result in mental trauma in these children.
Illiteracy: Children that are employed do not have the time to go to school. The lack of education and illiteracy makes them individuals with limited opportunities as far as employment is concerned.
Indulgence into Crime Field: Uneducated/ Unguided children who work in society sometimes get influenced by criminal activities and commit crimes at a low age
What needs to be done to stop child labour in India
Much more has to be done in the political landscape to stop exploitative child labour in India: the laws against child labour must be further tightened and more strictly enforced. In addition, it is important to combat extreme poverty, a root cause of child labour. Addressing poverty and inequality is crucial to end child labour in India.
Access to education is also vital to break the vicious cycle of poverty and child labour. As children complete higher levels of education, they are more likely to find decent work in adulthood and can use their income to care for themselves and their families without relying on child labour. Although education is compulsory and free in India for children up to the age of 14, widespread poverty forces families to prioritize putting food on the table over sending their children to school. As a result, many children attend school irregularly or not at all because they have to work instead.
Initiatives from civil society have given lakhs of children the means of living dignified life where, they can cherish their childhood. Save the Children has forged powerful relationship with government, national and International bodies to make child rights a “movement”. Fighting child labor requires a multi-pronged push, and there is a need to make this a people’s issue. While officials and government can only institute policies, ignoring everyday child abuse and malnourishment must also be attacked at an individual level, wherever possible – so donate online and support this cause. Every bit of help counts in the fight against issues plaguing children’s lives.
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