Child Labour-The loitering horror

It’s to remind us all of one of the painful horrors which still lurks in the world, it is observed all over the world (12 June) and is celebrated every year by UN is a sanctioned holiday by ILO (International Labour Organization).

Child labour is a horrific crime, many a times it’s forced upon naïve lives and children take up jobs at an early age so that they can also become a bread winner for their family due to financial woes. It’s a vile practice which still exists today in remote areas and many a times goes unnoticed.

Most of the third world countries have the largest number of child labourers’ eg.-South Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Myanmar and also in many parts of India. It’s a phenomenon which most of us are aware about and many a time we try our best to contribute to eradicating this heinous practice from our world.

Economic factors is just one of the reasons which compels children to work, especially due to inflation, children tend to take up jobs at small hotels or shops where informal labour exists, due to this they can easily work around but are also misused by their superiors.

Due to child labour one’s freedom is curtailed along with the banishment of their own carrier and also they are unable to have access to many opportunities which life has to offer. One is unable to focus on self-growth and ones’ goals in life have to be forgotten. The child is put into a whirlpool of reeling pain and is trapped in the wrong sphere at such a young age and also exposes himself to other horrors.

In most of the third world countries family sizes can be huge and just one bread winner’s income won’t suffice the whole family, hence many children are encouraged by their parents to take up jobs in the informal sector and to earn money so that they can satisfy their basic needs. Many factories used to employ children between the age of eleven to thirteen as workers luckily this practice has almost vanished away due to child labour laws.

Many students in developing countries lose interest in studying it could be family problems, financial woes or lack of interest and take up trifling jobs so that they can start earning, this not only ruins their carrier but also can expose them to adverse snarls of the world at a young age.

One of the biggest reasons of child labour is financial problems, most of the children who commit themselves to working as a child labourer are people belonging to BPL (below poverty line), and one of the only ways to work out things in their life is by working and earning at a young age, it could be the nearest tea stall near your house where you see small boys lending their energy or even the newspaper delivery boy who comes on his worn out bicycle. Most of them even end up working as construction labourers, risking their innocent lives.

One of the other reasons for increase in child labour is improper enforcement of laws and irregular checks by the government. As citizens of this country and as humans of the world we can do our bit by educating ourselves on this trivial topics. To contact legislators if we come in contact and come across child labourers in our neighbourhood. Also to not shriek away from giving your domestic workers their fair share of income so that we can break the cycle of child labour. And to buy from local grocery stores and not bargain with small sellers are just a few of the things we can do to improve this disturbing situation.

Abdhi Upadyay