child labour pakistan essay

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Child labour is one of the biggest threats to the rights of children worldwide. It is an even more pressing issue in developing countries like Pakistan where an estimated 12 million children are victims of child labour. This article will analyse how Pakistan’s socioeconomic problems have led to the prevalence of child labour by highlighting the complex interplay between poverty, limited opportunities, poor infrastructure, and societal challenges. It will further examine these root causes, explore the consequences of child labour, and provide some potential solutions to this critical issue.

Causes of Child Labour

• Poverty as a Driver of Child Labour

Poverty is Pakistan’s primary driver of child labour. The result of a cross-sectional study conducted in Karachi, between April and June 2008, which correlated poverty and child labour, showed that poverty was the reason for the employment of around 83% of the country’s children. Poverty is on the rise as the World Bank predicted that by the end of 2023, 37.2% of people will live in poverty ($3.65/day). The figure is a little lower than the most recent estimate in 2018, which was 39.8%. Nevertheless, when population growth is accounted for, there are almost 3 million more poor people in the country compared to 2018. The lack of financial resources and limited access to social welfare programs forces families to prioritise immediate economic survival over their children’s education.

Many poverty-stricken families rely on their children for an extra source of income, often sending them to work as domestic workers. Currently, an estimated 264,000 children across Pakistan are employed as domestic workers.  Cultural norms and traditional gender roles often restrict girls’ access to education, pushing them into household chores or early marriages. This restricts their education opportunities, which perpetuates the cycle of poverty for their family.

The case of Zohra Shah sparked much controversy. Zohra was an eight-year-old girl who was sent to work as a maid to provide income for her family. She was brutally assaulted by her employers, which eventually led to her passing. The girl’s mother, Samina Abbas said that the choice to send her to work was the “biggest regret” of her life. The girl’s father had lost his job, and his sons refused to work, leaving Zohra behind. The father wanted his children to study but could not afford to pay for their tuition, books and uniforms. The nearest school to their village was about 10 kilometres away, making it even more difficult to facilitate their education.

Pakistan’s high adult unemployment and underemployment rates are a factor in the country’s high child labour rates. In 2020-2021, Pakistan’s unemployment rate was 6.3%. However, this is lower than the unemployment rate of 6.9 % in 2018-2019. Unskilled workers, which make up the majority of the lower socio-economic strata, are forced to accept abusive working circumstances due to a lack of job prospects and low earnings. These include working overtime without compensation, the denial of wages, benefits and leaves, and unsanitary working conditions . In return, they are then forced to use their children as labourers to help support the family. This perpetuates the cycle of child labour, as children are relied upon as a source of income for several families.

• Inadequate Education Infrastructure

Pakistan’s inadequate education infrastructure often restricts access to compulsory education which is a significant cause of child labour. The link between education and reducing child labour is well-established and widely recognized by researchers, policymakers, and international organisations .  By giving children the chance to learn new things and gain knowledge, education contributes to preventing child labour by giving kids the resources and skills they need to end the cycle of exploitation and poverty. According to the World Bank , the net enrollment rate for primary education in 2018 was reported at 65.3%, indicating that a majority of children between the ages of five and sixteen were not attending school.

Children find it challenging to pursue education in poverty-stricken communities since there are no nearby schools, classrooms, or easily-accessible basic educational supplies. For families who are struggling financially, the costs of resources associated with sending their children to school, such as uniforms, books, and transportation, prevent them from being able to enroll their children in these schools.

Throughout the years, various cases and petitions in Pakistan have highlighted the significance of the right to education. In Syed Nazeer Agha vs Government of Balochistan (PLD 2014 Balochistan 86), the Balochistan Government held to have neglected its responsibility to provide books to students in government schools in violation of the right to free and compulsory primary education under Article 25-A of the Constitution. The Quetta High Court recognised that simply constructing schools and offering free textbooks was insufficient to ensure children attended school; rather, an environment conducive to learning was also essential.

Another important case is the Human Rights Case 19360-P (2013 SCMR 54), where the Supreme Court’s intervention led to positive changes in the school, including improved staff salaries, increased funding for infrastructure development, and resolution of administrative problems. These actions demonstrate the court’s commitment to safeguarding the right to education as enshrined in Article 25-A of the Constitution and holding the authorities accountable for ensuring its implementation. These cases highlight the main issue with the educational infrastructure: only providing free education is insufficient to provide for the right enshrined under Article 25-A.

• Lack of resources and funds

Pakistan’s lack of funds and resources invested in the education sector also proves to be a hindrance in combating child labour. The problem with academic institutions is that appropriate funding is necessary for sufficient and high-quality education. However,  Pakistan’s budget is highly volatile due to the country’s mounting international debts, which leaves a lesser portion of its budget for important sectors such as education. Pakistan’s public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP is estimated at 1.7% in the fiscal year 2022-23 against 1.4% for the last fiscal year, which is the lowest in the region . In 2016, Pakistan’s public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP saw an all-time high at 3% but since then it has been going down to the current 1.7%. As a result, schools are forced to raise funds through the parents of enrolled students, which inevitably makes the actual cost of education quite significant, and far from ‘free’.

• Weak Law Enforcement

Weak law enforcement contributes to the persistence of child labour in Pakistan. Despite legislation prohibiting child labour, weak implementation, corruption, and lack of awareness about existing laws allow employers to exploit children for cheap labour. This lack of enforcement perpetuates the cycle of child labour and inhibits children’s access to education. For example, the Employment of Children Act was passed in 1991 which made it illegal for children under 14 to work. Still, the percentage of children aged ten to fourteen employed in the labour force is 8.2%, which is approximately 2.05 million children. Child labour is also prohibited indirectly by legislation providing for free and compulsory primary education; these statutes exist at the provincial level, with a federal statute applying to the Islamabad Capital Territory. However, the limited finance dispersed to all the provinces from the allocated federal budget means that schools are significantly underfunded and unable to prevent children from being employed.

The Ministry of Human Rights in Pakistan has been actively involved in addressing the issue of child labour in the country. The Ministry plays a crucial role in formulating policies, implementing programs, and coordinating efforts to combat child labour and protect the rights of children. The Ministry is responsible for a lot of tasks regarding safeguarding human rights, a few vital tasks are policy formulation and enforcement.

Despite existing laws and regulations, enforcement mechanisms are often weak, and child labour persists due to various socio-economic factors, including poverty and limited access to education. Challenges persist in implementation and enforcement, and further efforts are needed to curb child labour effectively .

• Strengthening Legislation and Enforcing Laws

The creation and execution of effective legal and policy frameworks is an important step in the fight against child labour. Although Pakistan has passed specific laws and policies regarding child labour, the lack of implementation is the main cause for its continued prevalence.

There has been an increase of different provincial legislation passed by the four provincial assemblies in the nation. Several laws have been passed in an effort to stop the occurrence of child labour. For example, in Punjab, the Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act 2004 imposes a positive duty on the provincial government to establish child protection instiutitons for ‘destitute and neglected children’, and to ensure their welfare if their parents or guardians are unable to do so, or if they are orphaned children. This classification covers several children at risk of abuse, including those subject to child labour.

According to section 14 of the Employment of Children Act, anyone who employs a child or enables a child to work in the mentioned jobs and processes in the Act is subject to a term of imprisonment that can last up to a year, and a fine that can be up to PKR 20,000. But this is not enforced like it should be, which eventually does not accomplish their goal of combatting child labour. This is because there is no clear vision or strategy for the implementation of the Act, as statutes alone have little impact without other policy and institutional mechanisms in place.

Pakistan should follow the footsteps of other countries such as Egypt , which has implemented a National Action Plan to end child labour by 2025. Pakistan should adopt a similar approach. Egypt also held an awareness-raising event for more than 40 families from various migrant populations in Cairo, including 87 children. This was organised by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Egypt to commemorate the World Day Against Child Labour, and sought to increase awareness of children’s rights while exploring ways to prevent exploitation, ensure environmental sustainability, and promote the value of mental health and wellbeing for parents as well as children. Such strategies could be implemented in Pakistan to raise awareness about the harmful effects of child labour, as well as develop an effective strategy (beyond legislative drafting) to combat its prevalence.

• Ensuring Accessible and High-Quality Education

By ensuring accessible and high-quality education, Pakistan can significantly reduce the number of children entrapped in child labour by ensuring they complete their primary education. This will require a major readjustment of the portion of the state budget allocated to education. The provision of free and required education for all children, including those from marginalised groups, should be a top priority for Pakistan. This necessitates spending on curriculum development, teacher training, and educational infrastructure. With the currently low priority that is afforded to public sector education, Pakistan must reconsider and reprioritise its budgetary expenditure if it is serious about curbing child labour.

• Role of NGOs and International Organisations

Because of the state’s lack of prioritisation of education, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and international organisations have had to step in. Their assistance and support must continue to be utilised through engagement by the state. For example, the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) is Pakistan’s leading organisation defending children rights at a local level, which includes combating child labour. SPARC works alongside International Labour Organisation (ILO) to provide children protection services across Pakistan.

The ILO promotes social justice and internationally recognised human and labour rights. Since its creation, Pakistan has been an important and active member of ILO, and has ratified 36 ILO conventions, which include eight fundamental conventions. Two of these fundamental conventions are the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention ( No. 182 ) and the Minimum Age Convention ( No. 138 ), which are crucial resources for states to create efficient legal frameworks. Regarding the Minimum Age Convention, in its 2018 report , the ILO Committee of Experts expressed satisfaction regarding certain legislative changes in Pakistan. The government had indicated that it proposed draft laws in the Islamabad Capital Territory, Balochistan, and Sindh provinces, aimed at setting a minimum working age of at least 14 years and identifying hazardous working activities. The Committee urged the government to take the necessary steps to ensure the adoption of these draft laws in all remaining provinces of Pakistan.

Additionally, the Committee urged the government to ensure the effective implementation of these laws and to take appropriate measures to eradicate child labour throughout the country. If law enforcement agencies work efficiently, then this issue of child labour can easily be combated. NGOs are working towards educating children and are working against child labour. Thus, compliance with the ILO’s recommendations as well as continued commitment to the ILO’s central causes can allow Pakistan to develop a robust legal and policy framework to combat child labour. Engaging assistance from NGOs and international organisations can serve to significantly improve Pakistan’s capacity in minimising its prevalence.

• Social Welfare Programs

To prevent parents from resorting to making their children work, the government can offer income support programs for poverty-stricken families. An example of this is through the introduction of social protection programmes. Pakistan should invest in and create adult skill development programmes, employment creation, and income support. Providing people with unemployment benefits, vocational training and other similar facilities would provide a means to families to eventually lift themselves out of poverty by easing financial strains on families and lessen their reliance on child employment. This will also require significant budgetary reallocation and a development of a social protection strategy.

• Capacity-Building

Mechanisms for enforcement and monitoring must be strengthened in Pakistan to eliminate child labour successfully. To identify and remedy child labour breaches, the government should invest in the training and capacity-building of labour inspectors. The efficiency of monitoring activities can be increased by cooperation between law enforcement authorities, civil society organisations, and communities. Campaigns for public awareness can be quite effective in informing the public about the negative effects of child work and encouraging social responsibility.

Pakistan can implement laws, train labour inspectors, and follow up with monitoring and enforcing mechanisms, among other initiatives. Pakistan, like other developing countries such as Nigeria, Fiji, Mali and Sri Lanka can take an Action Pledge like they did in 2021. All of these countries’ action pledges aimed towards increasing and strengthening the legal framework regarding child labour. In Sri Lanka, the government also increased working age to 16 and in Mali, the government planned to recruit new labour inspectors, provide technical support to NGOs, and end the worst forms of child labour in the country. This is followed up by a publication of an annual report on the efforts made throughout the year .

Child labour has been and continues to be a monumental issue that Pakistan struggles to surmount. Addressing this issue requires comprehensive solutions such as strengthening the legislation, enforcing laws, ensuring high-quality education, better monitoring, engaging NGOs and international organisations and incorporating best practices from other countries. It also requires a proper understanding of the underlying socio-economic problems that the country is facing that inevitably lead to child labour. By developing and implementing the aforementioned solutions, Pakistan can work towards eradicating child labour. Nevertheless, one must acknowledge the difficulty of implementing these solutions in the short-term future. Thus, Pakistan must work to develop a long-term strategy to curb child labour, as it involves a variety of decisions to be made at different levels of the state bureaucracy.

Centre for Human Rights (CHR) blog

Author:  Muhammad Abdul Rehman

Muhammad Abdul Rehman is a student at Universal College Lahore, which is affiliated with the University of London. His main areas of interest are human rights law. He has honed his interest through various internships at different law firms and human rights clinics.

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Child labor in pakistan: policy analysis.

In Pakistan, child labor is a serious human rights issue with millions of children working to support their families. These children are deprived of their basic right to education. In this context, this policy brief aims to highlight the seriousness of the child labor issue, showing its links to poverty, lack of access to education, and ineffective government laws and policies. Pakistan is an economically developing country where poverty and inflation are high, and these factors ultimately promote child labor. Therefore, this paper suggests various ways to resolve the issue of child labor with an integrated long-term approach based on community needs and requirements, including initiation of poverty eradication programs, provision of income generation opportunities to poor families, implementation of free primary and compulsory education, vocational training for children and awareness programs, as well as, enforcement of laws and policies by the state. Many of the reflections that laid the foundation of the present study for resolving child labor issues were based on five years of practical experience in the field of human rights, particularly focused on child protection, child labor, non-formal education, and creating livelihood opportunities for poor families in Pakistan.  Subsequently, various policy alternatives were proposed and evaluated using Policy Delphi rankings and certain assessment criteria such as efficiency, liberty, acceptability, socio-political feasibility, economic feasibility and ease of implementation that could be effective in providing income generation opportunities to the families of child laborers, quality education to these children, and proper implementation of existing laws and policies related to child labor, child rights, and child education.

Key findings

The findings of the analysis highlighted certain major causes of increasing child labor in Pakistan including poverty and inflation due to which poor families are left with fewer employment options in Pakistan, non-availability and non-accessibility of schools for poor child laborers, lack of implementation of universal and compulsory primary education that  further compels many parents to send their children to work, earn money, and learn new skills, and rapidly growing illiteracy and ignorance especially in the lower economic classes due to lack of resources. The study further proposed significant policy alternatives for restricting child labor and reforming the socio-economic status of poor children by promoting child rights and child education in Pakistan. These policy options included banning child labor entirely, poverty alleviation programs, vocational schooling programs, enforcing part-time education, and research and data collection. Since criteria-based assessment exposed certain trade-offs between different alternatives, the decision was made considering what society would value more and what would be administratively feasible for the government to do. According to the Policy Delphi results, the most desirable alternative was the imposition of part-time education on children. Although it ranked well on ensuring liberty and long-term effectiveness, the economic costs and difficulty in implementation would cause problems since this alternative would require time especially in case of setting up separate schools for the provision of such part-time education. On the contrary, the policy option of carrying out research and data collection was found as the easiest to implement but it would not be efficient in the short-run as it could not generate quick results. Therefore, it was ranked as the least desired alternative, although such research might not be as costly as the other alternatives and would help in drawing up future policy alternatives that could target the problem more effectively. However, the Pakistani society was found favoring quick results over calculated and well-researched alternatives that might take longer to implement and bring about results.

Implications

The study suggests that the action plan to reduce and prevent child labor must consider all aspects of education, from the government school system, non-formal and transitional programs to curriculum development, provision of materials and equipment, quality teachers and extracurricular activities. There should be a strong focus on non-formal education in rural and remote areas or in disadvantaged urban districts. Vocational training and skill education can also be essential components and strategies to reduce child labor. Besides all that, the public needs to be made aware of child labor, particularly its worst forms, and how child labor is harmful to the children as well as to the society. For this, awareness-raising activities including social mobilization, workshops, seminars, and trainings could be beneficial to inform communities and parents about the detrimental effects of child labor. Moreover, to encourage children and ensure their effective participation in decision-making, children’s clubs could be formed promoting child rights, raising awareness and discouraging child labor in society. These clubs could be set up at the community, schools, district, provincial and national levels. In addition to that, the industrial areas in Pakistan such as Sialkot, Kasur and Hyderabad should be targeted and part-time education should be imposed upon all child laborers with careful monitoring of progress, especially in the first few years to ensure that the children are benefitting from the education. Through the imposition of part-time education, the child laborers will not only be able to support their families, but they will also be able to get educated, hence ensuring better prospects for them in the future. Similarly, it can lead to more children being streamlined into the education system in the long-run, ending the cycle of illiteracy and poverty. Therefore, sperate schools for child laborers should be set up in partnership with local and international NGOs so that the entire economic and administrative burden does not fall on the government, as well as to allow more innovation in ideas and better planning. However, in the short-term, government should set up temporary schools or space should be made in government schools for evening classes to cater to child laborers since separate schools serving this purpose can only be set up in the longer run. Furthermore, the government of Pakistan needs to revise its poverty eradication strategy and should include broader participation by the civil society and the private sector at all stages of policy process including formulation, implementation, and outcome-based monitoring. This strategy should recognize the multidimensional nature of poverty and the scope of actions needed to reduce poverty by controlling inflation and providing income generation opportunities to poor and vulnerable families. Similarly, the government of Pakistan could conduct a survey to identify the extent of the issue of child labor. The findings of the survey would be helpful in designing an action plan for combating child labor effectively. However, the engagement of civil society organizations and International Labor Organization (ILO) would be quite essential in this whole process to provide technical assistance to the government of Pakistan. The government also needs to increase the wages of labor class people according to the market rates. Moreover, providing microcredit or microfinance assistance to poor families without interest for business purposes would be another effective policy option to increase their income. Whereas, in order to resolve the issue of indebtedness and bonded child labor, the social protection system needs to be promoted. Similarly, the existing social protection programs by the government including Bait-ul-Mal and Zakat programs should be strengthened and promoted to give benefits to maximum number of poor families. In addition to that, allocation of special funds in terms of cash, alternate livelihood, a piece of land, and quality education to children along with scholarships, incentives to families, low-cost housing, vocational trainings and social security cards for the rehabilitation of bonded and child labor families could be another positive action for the protection and prevention of child labor. Since, the government of Pakistan has amended Employment of Children Act (ECA) 1991 to include child labor issues in informal sectors such as agriculture, livestock, and home, the government of Pakistan and law enforcement agencies should also make efforts to enforce all these laws in their true sprit by allocating sufficient funds and establishing an implementation infrastructure mechanism in the country. Additionally, in the long-term, more policies should be implemented and research should be carried out to monitor progress of the initial policy plans and their success rate.

In the 21st century, we not only employ children, we take away their right to life

On May 31, 2020, an eight-year-old domestic worker was brought to Begum Akhtar Rukhsana Memorial Hospital in Rawalpindi. The child’s employers had brutally assaulted her for mistakenly releasing two costly parrots from their cage — which were apparently worth more than her life.

At the hospital, she was put on ventilator, but succumbed to her injuries on June 1 — that child was Zohra Shah.

It has been three years since that incident.

She had met the same fate as the 11-year-old boy from Lahore who was ‘caught’ eating food from his employer’s fridge , of 15-year-old Mohammad Imran, a child domestic worker (CDW) who was strangled in 2018, and that of 16-year-old Uzma who was tortured and murdered by her employers in 2019 for allegedly helping herself to a small piece of meat.

In Zohra’s case, the public outcry had all but dissipated a few weeks after the employers were detained — after all justice had been served and it was time to put this incident behind us. Many people might not even remember her today.

But it’s important to ask where we stand now, three years after that incident?

Domestic child labour laws across Pakistan

On Sept 13, 2021, Pakistan passed The Islamabad Capital Territory Domestic Workers Bill, 2021 — ratified into an Act in 2022 — banning child labour in domestic work under any circumstance. The law is, however, applicable in the federally administered territory only, with provincial governments yet to follow suit.

In Punjab, the Punjab Domestic Workers Act 2019 specifies the minimum age for employment as 15 years. According to the Act, a child between 15-18 years of age may be employed only for light work. Light work is defined as “all such activities which don’t negatively impact a child’s health, security and education”.

It also states that a domestic worker shall not be employed under the bonded labour system, and the employer shall provide them with dignified working conditions along with occupational safety and health measures. It mandates the registration of domestic workers with the Punjab Employees’ Social Security Institution and states that a worker cannot be required to perform work which isn’t specified in their contracts.

The Sindh Prohibition of Employment of Children Act, 2017 and the Prohibition of Employment of Children Act, 2015, of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, both set the minimum age for labour at 14 years.

The Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) requires each member state to ensure that the work performed by domestic labourers under the age of 18, but above the minimum age of employment, doesn’t deprive them of compulsory education or interfere with their opportunities to participate in further education.

How do the laws translate beyond paper?

Pakistan lacks strong, integrated enforcement mechanisms for legislative and policy frameworks on child labour. Despite laws being in place, the reality on the ground remains unchanged. Contracts for domestic work are virtually non-existent in Pakistan — it would perhaps be a fair question to ask whether the lawmakers themselves abide by this condition. Structural health measures for domestic workers too seem like a distant reality.

Lack of written contracts puts CDWs at the mercy of employers. Young and vulnerable children depend on the honesty and goodwill of the employers to be given pay and good working conditions. They also aren’t often privy to the terms and conditions from their employers regarding the recruitment.

A 2004 study by the ILO found that 264,000 children were working in domestic labour, however, more recent projections (up to 2014) estimated the number at 14 million children.

The ILO estimates that one in every four households in Pakistan employs a child in domestic work, predominantly girls, aged 10 to 14 years, showing just how prevalent and normalised the phenomenon remains.

Punjab has launched a door-to-door campaign in selected districts to identify and register domestic workers, aiming to enable their access to social protection. However, as of early 2021, only 14,717 domestic workers in Punjab were registered.

Glaringly, many CDWs are employed as resident workers , which means that they live with their employer. They often do not have access to cell phones, and very restricted contact with their families and anyone beyond the confines of the home. This also means that they do not have strict working hours and can be subjected to work at any time of the day. Most of all, however, this increases the risk of sexual abuse from the employer’s family, other or older house help, and even visitors.

With the Covid-19 pandemic and the following economic shutdown, the situation worsened. Due to Covid-19 lockdowns, CDWs were separated from their families for longer periods of time and were at an increased risk of sexual, physical and emotional abuse.

Since 2020, multiple cases of abuse have been reported, with the victims being domestic helpers under the age of 15. On May 5, it was reported by a local media outlet that a 12-year-old domestic helper in Karachi had been beaten by the house owner after she had mistakenly dropped a frying pan full of hot oil — the girl also sustained burn injuries as a result.

It is worthwhile to note that for the most part, people refrain from reporting such cases and they go undisclosed in the media, either due to the nature of the abuse, or the social position of the employers.

According to a report that compiled the statistics of abuse, torture, rapes and murders of CDWs across the country from the media over the past decade, 96 children have been tortured and raped, and 44 have been murdered. Of these 140 children, 48 (34 per cent) children were 10 years old and below , 56 (40pc) children between 11 to 14 years old and 36 (26pc) children between 15 to 18 years old.

Moreover, the report states that of the 140 cases, “79 per cent were reported from Punjab, 14 per cent from Sindh, six per cent from Islamabad and one percent from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”

It is once again essential to point out that it is illegal to employ a child below the age of 14. And yet, over 104 children under the age of 14 were murdered in the past decade, and these are only numbers that have been reported in the media.

Combatting modern-day slavery in Pakistan

Due in part to a lack of political will and extensive community acceptance of child labour in domestic employment, policy implementation is still difficult. Although numerous organisations, governments, and sectors are engaged in the fight against child labour, there is no unified strategy or plan in place.

The recommendations in the scoping study by the ILO state that laws and policies need to be formulated using a bottom-up approach. This approach in policymaking involves the people at the grassroots level in the decision-making process who have a better understanding of the underlying causes of child labour and the specific needs and challenges of their community. With a better understanding of the problem, affected communities can come up with more effective solutions that are culturally appropriate and take into account the unique needs of their community.

Overwhelmingly, these cases emerge from the households of powerful men and women. It is not a matter of awareness, since many of these people belong to what are considered ‘upper-class’ and ‘respected’ professions such as businessmen , judges , military officials and doctors , who are well-versed and well-travelled. What it seems to be is a matter of entitlement over another being, of not seeing children as children. There is an urgent need for a paradigm-shift and conversations about the rights of workers and children, to be able to recognise child labour as something wrong in the first place, in order for authorities to take serious action against it.

Schooling and child labour are inextricably linked. In the words of Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi , “We will not end child labour until every child is in school, and we will not succeed in ensuring every child is in school until we eradicate child labour”.

Elimination of tuition fees, free textbooks, uniforms and school transportation, as well as the implementation of in-kind transfer initiatives like food for education and conditional cash transfer programmes can encourage parents to send their children to schools.

In order to limit and regulate child labour with the ultimate goal of eradicating this phenomenon we, as a society — or as people who accept this practice as inhumane — must play our part.

No matter how culturally ingrained the practice might be, we must not become desensitised to it. Whether it’s sponsoring a child’s education or contacting the relevant authorities in case of an underage child being employed in your neighbourhood or family, let’s play our part.

Let us, for once, not wait for a child to be killed to raise our voices.

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Child Labor in Pakistan: Causes, Consequences and Prevention

• Dr. Sayed Raza Shah Gilani Assistant Professor , Department of Law , Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, KP, Pakistan
• Shehla Zahoor Lecturer , Department of law , Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University Peshawar, KP, Pakistan
• Muhammad Arshad Iqbal Assistant Professor , Department of law , Govt. Post Graduate Jahanzeb College Saidu Shrif Swat KP, Pakistan

This article addresses the underexplored but persistent problem of child labour in Pakistan. Child labour is a constitutionally declared crime in Pakistan yet one can see a little progress in eliminating the scourge of child labour from Pakistan. In fact, it is on the rise. What causes child labour? This article posits that child labour can be reduced in Pakistan if the nexus between extractive state institutions and the exploitative private sector is ruptured. This could be done by strengthening democracy and empowering the parliament, so that it is able to make and implement robust anti-child labour laws in the country. The various laws and the constitution of the country provide in clear terms that child labor is a heinous and prohibited crime which comes at the cost of child and in turn impacting the social, intellectual, psychological and moral development of the child.

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Home → Articles → The Harsh Reality of Child Labor in Pakistan

Written by Maryam Ibrahim • July 13, 2023 • 1:04 pm • Articles , Current Affairs , Pakistan , Published Content

The Harsh Reality of Child Labor in Pakistan

Maryam Ibrahim has recently graduated from Lahore College for Women University with a bachelor's in international relations. Her sphere of interest includes the digitalization of international relations, specifically digital diplomacy.

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Introduction

Under the sweltering heat, rising dark smoke from brick kilns, and the dreadful hum of factory equipment, business is brisk. Whether selling goods by the side of the road or digging through other people’s trash to locate anything valuable, we see kids working side by side. Many of them are from households where sending their kids to work is the sole means of survival.

Few concerns in developing nations are as popularly discussed as child labor. According to an International Labour Organization (ILO) survey , 160 million children are employed in forced labor, globally. Of those children, 76 million were compelled to work in hazardous conditions in 2016. Throughout history, child labor has taken place in several human cultures at different times.

Even while developing countries have had substantial challenges as a result of child labor, both developed and emerging countries are affected. Child labor is a problem that is getting worse all across the world, especially in developing countries. The future of any nation is in the hands of its youth since they bear responsibility for the development or downfall of their country. For the state to progress, the youth must be smart and educated. And if the youngsters are socialized in a positive way, they could be useful. The country might set out on a voyage to the horizon if the children receive an education.

How can these very young members of society manage the state’s future in a way that will allow it to compete with the rest of the world if they are made to enter the workforce? Unfortunately, children’s prospects in less developed countries are less certain. Due to a multitude of circumstances that either intentionally or unintentionally contribute to the issue of child labor, Pakistan is also a victim of this growing global pandemic. Children from low-income homes are more likely to start working early, have poorer educational achievement, and endure other socioeconomic disadvantages in Pakistan, like in many developing countries.

According to the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and ILO Convention 182 , a person under the age of 18 is regarded as a child. ILO defines child labor as, “The work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.” Additionally, it can make it such that kids are unable to go to school, make them leave early, or make them try to manage school and extremely demanding work. As per Rodgers and Standing (1981) , there are four distinct kinds of child work: domestic work, wage labor, non-domestic and non-monitored employment, and bonded labor.

Child Labour in Pakistan

Child labor is not a recent development. The industrial boom under Zia-ul-Haq, when there was a pressing demand for laborers, is where this terrible phenomenon’s beginnings may be found. Children were recruited at the newly constructed factories that were established by the capitalists because their wages were lower than those of the adults. Child labor is not a singular occurrence; rather, it is the result of several socioeconomic variables acting in concert. Its causes include poverty, a lack of opportunity, education, and awareness, a greater population growth rate, outmoded societal norms and customs, and a wide range of supply and demand dynamics.

Political Causes

In Pakistan, political reforms were never consistently carried out, contributing to a flawed democracy that further squeezed the poor. As a result of this, the poverty rate increased and the income gap in the country widened. The authors of the book “Why Nation Fails” contend that there is a connection between state institutions and a number of societal issues like inequities, unemployment, and poverty in emerging countries.

The increase in poverty and the associated child labor has created a favorable environment for the spread of child labor. Due to Pakistan’s failure to execute major social reforms, it has become a major national concern. Therefore, the significance of political factors to the growth of child labor in the country cannot be overstated.

Economic Causes

Pakistan’s economy has had a number of issues ever since it gained independence. Pakistan consistently went through cycles of economic development and collapse. Economic considerations are blamed for the increase in child labor in the nation owing to a number of causes. First, the nation’s economic foundation is not very solid. The second issue is unemployment, which affects 7% of the population in the state. Every 3 out of 10 people in Pakistan are unemployed. The unemployment rate in urban areas has reached 10% while in rural areas it is 5%. 

Income disparities constitute the third issue. As per a report by the World Inequality Database, “the top 10% of Pakistani households earn 42% of the country’s income, while the bottom 50% earn only 13%.” The interaction of all these elements has led to an increase in child labor in the nation.

Social Causes

Socioeconomic issues have been the main contributors to child labor in Pakistan. First, the social structure has historically been patriarchal. There are more factors that contribute to overpopulation, which over time may place an excessive load on the family. Second, the country has a severe education crisis and a high rate of illiteracy. In rural areas, the lack of literacy is more obvious. The lack of knowledge results in a lack of enlightened values being instilled. Children in such circumstances are more committed to child labor than schooling.

Overpopulation has been cited as the main factor contributing to child labor in Pakistan. Overpopulation puts a strain on both household income and the nation’s resources. Numerous problems, including more children and related needs for more income, might result from an expansion of homes and the population. The only option available to the family in this scenario is to use child labor to supplement their meager income and efficiently satisfy their different demands.

Bonded Labour

Over 85% of the 20 million people who are forced into bonded labour by feudal lords, industrial owners, and aristocrats worldwide live in South Asia. The word “bound labor” may be foreign to many readers, but for those who had experience with it or are currently employed in it, it is nothing short of misery. Bonded labor is the practice of forcing employees to perform labor or provide services to creditors in exchange for cash advances and placing limits on their freedom of movement or employment until the loan is repaid.

The debtors are frequently forced to mortgage the services of not only themselves but also the members of their family for a fixed or indefinite amount of time, with or without pay. The bonded labor can persist for a number of years due to the exploitative nature of the connection between the creditor and debtor; in certain situations, the debts can be passed down through the generations as a result of inheritance. Due to the employer’s absolute control, this lending arrangement/ peshgi (loans) is fundamentally unfair.

The Case of Iqbal Masih

Iqbal, who was just five years old when his mother required money for a life-saving procedure, was forced into debt and forced to work as a laborer at a carpet factory in Pakistan. While working there, the factory owners subjected him to inhumane treatment, treating him like a mere slave. After a failed attempt at escaping the life of slavery, Iqbal soon learned that the state had banned child labor. Upon hearing this, the courageous child somehow managed to escape his brutal owner’s grasp and came into contact with the Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF) members, who gave him the required platform to express himself.

Iqbal then went on to organize and lead protests nationally and internationally in support of the total abolition of bonded labor, especially for the hundreds of thousands of children who were, and still are, caught in the cycle. Iqbal became a source of strength and hope for many people as local, national, and worldwide media flocked to his message. However, such a strong voice was portending a disaster for the owners of countless sites that depended on bonded labor. Despite knowing that his life was in danger, Iqbal remained determined to continue fighting for the cause. On April 16, 1995, Iqbal Masih who was just a 12-year-old boy at the time, was  shot and killed in Muritke, near Lahore.

Combating Child Labour: Initiatives and Bills

Article 11 of Pakistan’s 1973 Constitution calls for the abolition of all forms of exploitation. In addition to outlawing all forms of forced labor and bonded labor, it also forbids the employment of minors younger than 14 in any mines, factories, or other dangerous jobs. Several pieces of national legislation in Pakistan, based on various international laws and agreements, address the subject of child labor or the worst forms of child labor.

The Employment of Children Act, of 1991 is the main law regulating the employment of children in certain occupations and processes. According to Section 3 Part II, this law defines a “child” as a person who has not yet completed fourteen years of age and regulates the conditions for the employment of children in safer types of work. This governs their rights including working hours, rest breaks, etc.

The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1992 forbids any type of forced labor and outlaws all forms of bonded labor. This act marks a turning point in Pakistan’s history of exploitation of labor and has freed countless bonded laborers. Prior to the act, no lawsuit could be brought to recover any bond debt since all responsibilities on the part of the bonded labor were nullified.

Child labor not only damages the lives of the children involved, but it also calls into question the moral foundations of society and has a variety of political, social, and economic effects on society. However, the problem of child labor prohibits a kid from getting an education, depriving him of many fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution, different laws, and international agreements to which Pakistan is a signatory. These young people, who are thought of as the future of any proud nation and who would have otherwise been in school, now work together to assist their elders cope by attempting to lessen their suffering.

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Child labor in pakistan

Child labour refers to the employment of kids at regular and sustained labour. It is the full-time employment of kids under a minimal legal age. The pattern of child labour is considered illegal by many states and exploitatory by many international organisations. ( Child Labor at Distrcit Level, 2009 ) Child labour is one of the jobs that occur as a consequence of the responses to the economic jobs faced by vulnerable kids. In most developed and emerging states, usage of kids as labours is considered as misdemeanor of human rights and is outlawed, while some poorer and developing states do digest and let kid labour.

In Pakistan, a state where about half of the population lives below the poorness line, kid labour is profoundly entrenched and pressing phenomenon. Child labour in Pakistan is prevailing in all sectors of the economic system, thought it chiefly exists in the informal sector of employment and home-based industry. Pakistan ‘s high population growing of around 1.6 % poses multiple challenges and threatens to restrain limited resources and societal and economic development of the state.

Harmonizing to the study of Federal Bureau of Statistics ( FBS ) in 2002, the figure of working kids in Pakistan was about 3.5 million or 7 % of the entire work force in Pakistan. However, the kids under the age of 10 and those working in little and household concerns that are non registered with the authorities were non the portion of the study. So the existent figure is deemed to be much higher than the official figures.

In Pakistan, kids aged 5-14 are around 40 million.

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The study conducted by UNISEF in 2003, estimated that 8 million kids under the age of 14 are engaged as labours. Most of them are engaged as labours in brick kiln mills, rug weaving centres, agribusiness, little industries and domestic services. The study besides indicated that rural and urban ratio of kid labours was 7:1. The state with most figure of instances of child labour was Punjab with about 60 % of the entire kid labour population.

HISTORY AND IMPACT OF CHILD LABOR IN PAKISTAN

Child labour has been prevalent in Pakistan in all the sectors of the economic system, though it largely exists in informal sector of employment and in the place based industry. In late 1890ss, the affair of kid labour emerged as a serious consideration due to international exposure. In 1996, Pakistan ‘s Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto acknowledged the job of kid labour in the state and announced the program to extinguish it. In his address in April 1998, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stated that the job of kid labour occupied a outstanding topographic point in the docket of authorities of Pakistan. In 1999, Federal curate for labour and work force, Shaikh Rashid announced a four point policy for controling child labour in Pakistan. In Jan-99, authorities announced the bill of exchange of the labour policy. The policy envisaged that the authorities is committed to stop kid labour. It was besides promised by the authorities of Pakistan in 2000, that the jurisprudence to extinguish child labour and bonded labour at an economic degree would be implemented in 2002 and till 2005 ; there would be no bonded labour or child labour in Pakistan. Even after so much ordinances and promises by the authorities of Pakistan, the effort has non been successful till now. Though the issue has received international attending and assorted organisations at international degree like ILO and UNICEF are take parting in the issue, still the betterment in this instance is really slow.

In eliminating and making consciousness against child labour in Pakistan many communities are holding a interest. Some of these communities/autonomous organic structures working for the cause are:

Government of Pakistan

Children parliament pakistan, international labor organization, united nations children’s fund, other ngo ‘s, society and media.

All the above authorities and private organic structures are actively working for the obliteration of child labour in Pakistan. The issue has been earnestly addressed by the above organic structures either separately or in concurrence with any other organic structure. The function of each of the above mentioned organic structure in the obliteration of child labour in Pakistan is as follows:

GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN: Government of Pakistan has been actively working for the obliteration of child labour in Pakistan. Activities of authorities towards the issue have been deriving considerable attending since late 1990 ‘s, when the affair of kid labour emerged as a serious consideration due to international exposure. In Jan-99, authorities announced the bill of exchange of the labour policy. The policy envisaged that the authorities is committed to stop kid labour. It was besides promised by the authorities of Pakistan in 2000, that the jurisprudence to extinguish child labour and bonded labour at an economic degree would be implemented in 2002 and till 2005 ; there would be no bonded labour or child labour in Pakistan. Though the authorities has non been able to present on the promises made due to the increased political failings in the company, still there have been uninterrupted attempts made on their portion. Government besides identified poorness and deficiency of instruction for kids as root causes for the kid labour in the state.

( Arshad ) The present authorities in Pakistan has made simple instruction compulsory for kids. Along with that, the authorities has besides made the policy of administering free books in primary schools. This would assist the parents, who can non afford their kid ‘s instruction and school disbursals can direct their kids to schools. Along with all of the above, the undermentioned Torahs are made by authorities of Pakistan to turn to the issue ( Pakistan ) :

National Child Labor Laws: In Pakistan a kid is defined as a individual younger so fifteen. The legal minimal age for employment of kids is 14 for normal concerns and 15 for railroads and mines. The fundamental law of Islamic democracy of Pakistan prohibits forced labour, bondage, and employment of kids below the age of 14. The authorities of Pakistan asserts that the labour inspectors are empowered to transport out regular visits to all employment topographic points covered under employment of kids act 1991 to look into the conformity of the jurisprudence at that topographic points.

Education Laws: Articles 37 ( B ) & A ; ( degree Celsius ) of the fundamental law of Pakistan declares public policy to “ take illiteracy and supply free and mandatory secondary instruction within the minimal possible periodA [ and to ] A do proficient and professional instruction by and large available and higher instruction every bit accessible to all on the footing of virtue ” . Despite a jurisprudence in 1962 necessitating each state to denominate countries where primary instruction is mandatory, none of the states have complied. As of now, the present authorities in Pakistan has made simple instruction compulsory for kids. Along with that, the authorities has besides made the policy of administering free books in primary schools.

International Conventions: Pakistan is a party to ILO convention refering minimal age of employment in the industry and UN convention for rights of the kid.

Through above legislative assemblies and Torahs, and to some other timely ordinances, the authorities of Pakistan is moving as an active community stakeholder in obliteration of child labour in the state. Though in present scenario Pakistan is enduring through political failings, but still authorities is committed to take the work one measure in front.

CHILDREN PARLIAMENT OF PAKISTAN: The kids ‘s parliament for Pakistan was launched on 14-Nov-08, by Society for the Protection of the Rights of Child ( SPARC ) . The chief purpose of this parliament is to make consciousness and advance kid rights in the state. The members were elected from different schools of Peshawar, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Karachi, Lahore etc. Besides supplying basic rights to every kid in Pakistan other aims of this parliament are:

End kid labour

Educate every kid

Provide medical installations to kids

Protect the kids

In add-on, kids parliament serves as their voice to convey the troubles and jobs faced by the kids to authorities of Pakistan.

INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION: With the affair of child labour in Pakistan deriving international attending, ILO has fastened its stairss to turn to the issues. ILO does seasonably appraise within assorted industries in Pakistan surmising big sum of child labour. ( International Programme for riddance of child labour ) Based on the study they come out with study studies turn toing the issue and urging ways to cover with the state of affairss. Some of the latest studies conducted by ILO in Pakistan are:

Survey on Child Labor in Kasur Tanneries in 2004

Survey on Child Labor in Glass Bangles industry in Hyderabad-2004

Survey on kid labour in surgical instruments fabricating industry in Sialkot

Survey on kid labour in coal mine industries in Chakwal, Noshera and Shangla

ILO has besides been working with the authorities of Pakistan steering them from clip to clip on this issue. It is besides moving as a ticker Canis familiaris, inspecting the ways in which authorities is turn toing the issue.

United nations children’s fund: The name UNICEF needs no debut. United Nation International Children ‘s Emergency Fund, a UN organisation has systematically working towards the development of kids in developing states. UNICEF conducts seasonably studies to see the betterment in the instance. The study conducted by UNISEF in 2003, estimated that 8 million kids under the age of 14 are engaged as labours. Most of them are engaged as labours in brick kiln mills, rug weaving centres, agribusiness, little industries and domestic services. The study besides indicated that rural and urban ratio of kid labours was 7:1. The state with most figure of instances of child labour was Punjab with about 60 % of the entire kid labour population. UNICEF besides set-up centres in the Pakistan, assisting destitute kids get place. Pakistan is besides amongst the states that get funding from UNICEF to advance the stairss in obliteration of child labour.

OTHER NGO ‘S SOCIETY AND MEDIA: This is another group of really of import stakeholders in the issue of child labour in Pakistan. NGO ‘s like ACM Apostolic Charismatic Ministry and Child Reach International has continuously worked towards the development of kids in Pakistan to eliminate child labour. Though the NGO ‘s in Pakistan do n’t acquire proper support from authorities of Pakistan neither from any corporate organic structures, still the work they do in crating consciousness and supplying simple instruction to kids is rather appreciable. Society and media as a whole has a major function to play in the obliteration of child labour in Pakistan. These two stakeholders are still hibernating in the issue, but for the development of kids in Pakistan society and media have to play a major portion.

Poverty degrees in Pakistan appear to ask that kids work in order to let the households to make their mark take-home wage. The deficiency of economic chance for big employment in Pakistan demands to be studied and taken under consideration ; the authorities besides needs rigorous to inspect the rigorous execution of Torahs made by it. Lack of instruction is another ground for the high rate of kid labour in Pakistan. Thought authorities of Pakistan has made policies for supplying free simple instruction to kids, the policies need rigorous execution to turn to the issue. Besides, other stakeholders of the issue specially Children parliament, ILO, UNICEF, Media and NGO ‘s have to work in tandem to make consciousness for the rights of the kids in the state.

( n.d. ) . Retrieved Aug 1, 2010, from World Wide Web. unicef. org: World Wide Web. unicef. org/ protection/ index_3717. hypertext markup language

Ahmad, M. ( 2001 ) . Child Labor: A clip to reflect. In M. Ahmad, Child Labor: A clip to reflect. UNICEF.

Arshad, R. ( n.d. ) . Child labour in Pakistan. Retrieved Aug 1, 2010, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.hamariweb.com: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.hamariweb.com/articles/article.aspx? id=91

Child Labor at Distrcit Level. ( 2009, Sep ) . Retrieved August 1, 2010, from hypertext transfer protocol: //mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de: hypertext transfer protocol: //mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/17333/1/MPRA_paper_17333.pdf

H.Zaidi, H. ( 2004, Jan ) . Baseline study study on child labour. Retrieved Aug 1, 2010, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ilo.org: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ilo.org/ipecinfo/product/viewProduct.do? productId=5225

International Programme for riddance of child labour. ( n.d. ) . Retrieved Aug 1, 2010, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ilo.org: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ilo.org/ipecinfo/product/searchProduct.do ; ? type=normal & A ; title= & A ; selectedMonthFrom=-1 & A ; productYearFrom= & A ; selectedMonthTo=-1 & A ; selectedCountries=342 & A ; selectedMediaTypes=14 & A ; keywords= & A ; userType=3 & amp ; selectedFieldOfficeId=-1 & A ; resultPerPage=20 & A ; selectedSortById=4

Pakistan. ( n.d. ) . Retrieved Aug 1, 2010, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.dol.gov: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/sweat/pakistan.htm

Population nose count organisation. ( n.d. ) . Retrieved Aug 1, 2010, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.statpak.gov.pk: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.statpak.gov.pk/depts/pco/statistics/pop_sex_ratio_growth_rate/pop_sex_ratio_growth_rate.html

COMMUNITY PROGRAM TO ADDRESS CHILD LABOR IN PAKISTAN

Abstraction.

The paper designs a community plan to turn to the issue of child labour in Pakistan. It identifies assorted stakeholders in the issue and based on certain schemes and plans, intends to convey an effectual societal alteration. The paper besides addresses possible challenges in the manner of eliminating the kid labour in Pakistan and ways for turn toing the issue.

GOAL OF THE STUDY:

The primary end of the survey is placing the tendencies in the issue if child labour in Pakistan. Based on the issue, paper intends to place assorted stakeholders of the issue. The purpose of analyzing this is to a community plan to turn to the issue of child labour in Pakistan. It identifies assorted stakeholders in the issue and based on certain schemes and plans, intends to convey an effectual societal alteration. The paper besides addresses possible challenges in the manner of eliminating the kid labour in Pakistan and ways for turn toing the issue.

The ends had been made maintaining in head the resources available in Pakistan to convey a societal alteration. Political failing in the economic system of Pakistan has besides been kept in head. The success of this community plan depends upon the working in concurrence of the stakeholders of the issue.

Scheme TO BE ADOPTED

In order to eliminate child labour in Pakistan both preventative and disciplinary schemes are proposed. Successful intercession theoretical accounts are besides founded so that the alteration in cognition would be easier to convey approximately, attitude alteration requires comparatively longer clip frame and eventually the alteration in entire head set and behavioural alteration requires the longest clip. Interventions are to be phased out in the clip edge mode and alteration schemes are age specific and gender equitable.

GENERAL AND POSITIVE ACTION STRATEGIES: The following general and positive action schemes are requires to be taken to turn to the issue of child labour in Pakistan:

Change in attitude of stakeholders: Awareness runs, reding Sessionss and protagonism workshops need to be geared towards parents for deriving their assurance and for raising their consciousness about the ill-effects of child labour refering their kids. The runs and reding would foreground the options of kid labour, including non-formal and formal instruction and apprenticeship. Parents would be educated about the benefits of schooling in footings of income and increased efficiency and guiding that child labour in many instances is ineffectual with a really meagre income associated with it.

Similar services for deriving employers assurance would be arranged for constructing support for battle in extinguishing child labour. Carefully designed educational and enlightening conferences and/or seminars would be arranged to reconstruct the ego regard and self-respect of labour. Labor Department working with industry should work with missional ardor in order to carry through an eventual riddance of labour in a sensible clip frame.

Poverty Relief: Numerous stairss would be aimed at household ‘s alternate income coevals and poorness. Poverty relief would be addressed really earnestly at different degrees with the engagement of international organisations, assorted non-government bureaus and Provincial, federal and territory authoritiess. The job of kid labour in Pakistan can be managed efficaciously merely if the job of poorness is worked out efficaciously, through income coevals undertakings for society and parents and through just and just entree to safety cyberspaces such as zakat financess and other benevolent plans.

Poverty relief attempts of provincial and province authoritiess PRSP ( Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper ) would co-occur good with time-bound plan enterprises targeted at phasing out child labour from the state.

( Beig, 2004 ) The study carried out by ILO in 2004 in coal mine industries in Chakwal, Noshera and Shangla revealed following figures:

Sample Plan

Actual interview conducted, working children, chirat/ noshera:, drop-out survey:, school-going.

Formal Schooling, Non-Formal Schooling and Vocational Training: ( Kulsoom, 2009 ) Poverty being major ground for bulk drop-outs, proviso of fee and subsidised instruction would be recommended at formal schools. Formal school instructors need to be trained to follow kid friendly instruction methodological analysiss and attitude in order to cut down hazard of drop-outs. Apart from the traditional plan of survey, developing at non-formal educational schools should include vocational preparation & A ; wellness and safety instruction. NFE schools would be a truly indispensable step because to halt the supply of labour at beginning, alternate beginnings of productive battle demands to be available with kids.

Quality of instruction will besides be enhanced and it needs to be attractive and relevant to assist cut down the drop-out inclination in schools. Issues refering child labour, including information about the risky nature of kid labour and gender prejudices needs to be incorporated into the educational course of study of non-formal and formal schools for both male and female pupils.

Occupational wellness jeopardies and safety steps: Till the kid labour is eliminated wholly, the civilization of occupational safety would be promoted in all industries by raising consciousness through protagonism seminars. These awareness-related protagonism seminars should be arranged at the worksites and at community degree, would besides be used for educating kids about the sick effects of child labour and raising consciousness about the value of instruction and its other positive options. The Occupational Health and Safety ( OHS ) survey undertaken by ILO in 2004 besides yielded elaborate penetrations on the same issue. In add-on to seminars, group meetings and workshops would besides be arranged on a sustainable footing for advancing norms and following preventative wellness steps.

Improved Legislative Measures: Stairss would be taken for enforcement of bing labour Torahs. Till the kid labour is wholly eliminated, increased protection to child workers would be provided upon the consent of the authorities against the misdemeanor of their rights and against insecure industrial patterns including child labour. High powered enigma clients would be requested to supervise attachment in safety criterions along with labour sections and ILO proctors.

PARTNERSHIPS AND CAPACITY Building: ILO would be requested to construct strategic confederations with Non Governmental Organization in Pakistan. ILO besides need to see confederations with audience bureaus working on child labour issues to utilize them as catalyst-facilitators, proctors and trainers in working towards the common end of eliminating child labour and cut downing its ill-effects. To rectify the job of kid labour, cross bureau partnerships in Pakistan would be prompted till the operations are self sustained and to the full streamlined. These partnerships would be supported by ILO and jointly partnered with authorities bureaus in Pakistan and with relevant international bureaus such as UNICEF, UN section for Assistance Framework ( UNDAF ) and other stakeholders like NGOs, Media etc. cost effectual advanced transmutations would be geared towards effectual edifice of District degree labour sections, Provincial planning, territory authoritiess and NGO ‘s. The purpose of preparation would be to instill larning about a proactive work civilization along with a missional ardor in turn toing the issue of child labour in Pakistan.

MEDIA Support: Assorted media like T.V, Press, and Internet media would be involved in the broad-based consciousness sing the child labour issues, including vocational and formal instruction. Effective information, instruction and communicating stuffs would be created and would be disseminated to press and other media in order to win their support and create consciousness. Electronic media would be used subsequently as an effectual spouse in the battle against the kid labour in Pakistan. Schemes will besides be made to derive the assurance of electronic media through workshops, conferences and meetings.

All the above schemes used for community battle are based on the undermentioned theoretical account.

Different Stakeholders that are involved in this plan of community battle are:

International labor organization ( ilo ), united nation international children emergency fund ( unicef ), society, particularly parents of the kids, un department for assistance framework ( undaf ), non government organizations ( ngos ), schools and their staffs, particularly instructors, labor union, media in all signifiers, children themselves, potential challenges and the road ahead.

Potential challenges in the manner of doing community battle for eliminating child labour in Pakistan are:

Weak Political and Economic Scenario in Pakistan: Pakistan is traveling through a period of weak political and economic scenario. So that will be the major possible challenge in doing the community battle because in an unstable economic system implementing legislative assemblies is a really hard undertaking. Besides, doing agreements for financess in a weak political scenario becomes hard because in this instance authorities may non be ready to fund the plan. For get the better ofing this challenge, fund demands to be raised from major corporate. They should be encouraged to fund the plan every bit much as possible as the portion of their corporate societal duty. For implementing the legislative assemblies, proper confederation demands to be made between Government organic structures and foreign organic structures like ILO and UNICEF who are already working for the cause. These organic structures will assist monitoring Torahs and legislative assemblies formed.

Poverty: Poverty is another major challenge in the effectivity of community battle in Pakistan. Most households send their kids to work to make their mark take-away place wage. So doing them understand about non sing the wage of their kids as the major factor would be truly hard. To get the better of this challenge, workshops would be held and proper guidance would be provided to parents about the harmful effects of child labour and benefits of simple instruction for the hereafter of their kids.

Attitudes of Employers, Parents and Children: This is another challenge in the effectivity of the community plan. In assorted industries kids are considered as inexpensive labours. So altering the attitude of the employers about using kids by sing them as inexpensive labour would be hard to alter. Every concern needs to be inspected at intervals along with guidance and advocacy meetings with employers to alter the attitude of the employees. Same would be the job with Parents and kids. This would be addressed by demoing the ill-effects of child labour and benefits of instruction.

Though poorness degrees in Pakistan appear to be a necessitate ground that kids work in order to let the households to make their mark take-home wage, effectual community battle can assist raise consciousness against the issue. The deficiency of economic chance for big employment in Pakistan demands to be studied and taken under consideration ; the authorities besides needs rigorous to inspect the rigorous execution of Torahs made by it. Lack of instruction is another ground for the high rate of kid labour in Pakistan. Thought authorities of Pakistan has made policies for supplying free simple instruction to kids, the policies need rigorous execution to turn to the issue. Besides, other stakeholders of the issue specially Children parliament, ILO, UNICEF, Media and NGO ‘s have to work in tandem to make consciousness for the rights of the kids in the state.

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Child Labour in Pakistan -Project Report

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Pakistaniaat a Journal of Pakistan Studies

Munir Hussain

Global Political Review

Isra Sarwar

Child labor is the growing curse in the world particularly in the developing countries and Pakistan is also the victim of this growing global phenomenon because of multiple reasons behind which encourage intentionally or unintentionally the dilemma of child labor. Child labor had multiple side effects that disturb the social fabric of the society and its growing statistics alarms the government of Pakistan to take the most possible and appropriate measures to combat this curse. This paper attempts to highlight the socioeconomic and political causes of child labor and had the objective to investigate the problem by applying mix methods of research using the convergent technique to get the real essence of the study with the multi-perspective lens. The study also provides recommendations along with the statistics to the policymakers for legislation.

Pirbhu Satyani

In Pakistan, child labor is a serious human rights issue with millions of children working to support their families. These children are deprived of their basic right to education. This essay aims to highlight the seriousness of the child labor issue, showing its links to poverty, lack of access to education, and ineffective government laws and policies. Pakistan is an economically developing country where poverty and inflation are high; these factors ultimately promote child labor. This paper suggests various ways to resolve the issue of child labor with an integrated long-term approach based on community needs and requirements, including initiating poverty eradication programs, providing income generation opportunities to poor families, implementing of free primary and compulsory education, vocational training for children, awareness programs, and enforcing laws and policies by the state. Many of the reflections on which this paper is based for resolving child labor are based on five years of practical experience in the field of human rights particularly focused on child protection, child labor, non-formal education, and creating livelihood opportunities for poor families in Pakistan.

Dr. Z U B A I D A ZAFAR

Child labor is an important area when it comes to the rights of the children. Similarly, South Asian countries are also suffering from this phenomenon. SAARC has taken many initiatives like SACG (South Asian Coordinating Group on Action) and SAAGN (South Asian Alliance of Grassroots NGOs) to eradicate this problem. Child labor is a major social issue that is encountering the social fabric of Pakistan as well. Child labor at brick kilns is most common in Pakistan along with child labor at minor workshops. However, it is yet to be determined which form of child labor is most threatening and has bad effects for the children and society. The current study explores to what extent and to what sectors the menace of child labor is rooted in Pakistan. The study is based on the secondary data collected by the Labor and Human Resource Department Government of the Punjab from district Jhang in connection with the project of eliminating worst forms of the child labor. The study concluded that child labor is present in four major sectors namely mechanical, agricultural, industry and general labor. The working hours and conditions vary a lot. Power looms and agricultural sector is the worst and most affected sector of child labor. The study implies that unawareness regarding the legality of child labor is a major issue in controlling the child labor. The government and local organizations should take up the challenge and work to eradicate this social evil.

Khizar Hayat

Child labor is a serious social issue of the present era especially in the developing countries like Pakistan. Majority of the children in Pakistan are still working at hotels, tea-stalls, factories and brick-kilns and they are forced to earn money in order to fulfill the needs of the family or add to the income of the family. They are living in a miserable plight and pity condition. They have to work for long hours which affect their health. The number of child laborers in our country is about 12 million. The present study was carried out in two districts (Mandi Bahauddin& Faisalabad) of Punjab. The main objective of the study was to explore various socioeconomic factors paving the way for child labor in society. The universe of the present study was the city areas and suburbs of district Faisalabad & Mandi Bahauddin consisting hotels, workshops, tea-stalls and brick-kilns. Multistage sampling technique was used for the present study. At first stage, two districts (Faisalabad & Mandi Bahauddin) of Punjab province were randomly selected. At the second stage, city areas of these two districts were selected randomly for the selection of sample. At the third stage, a sample of 200 respondents (100 from each district) who were doing labor and working at hotels, workshops, tea-stalls and brick-kilns of the city areas was taken through convenient sampling. The data were collected by designing a well-structured interview schedule. The collected data were analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results of the study showed that majority of the respondents were doing labor due to poverty and to support the family income. The other major reason of their labor was parents' illiteracy. Their main problem was long working hours and continue work schedule which had bad and serious physical and metal effects on their health.

Clinical Social Work and Health Intervention

casestudies journal , Erum Khushnood Zahid Shaikh

Child labor has been recognized as a serious and challenging issue in the civilized societies all over the world as well as in Pakistan. In Pakistan, children as labor force providing their services in various formal and informal sectors of economy. Therefore, this research paper aims at analyzing the socioeconomic factors of child labor and to assess the working condition of child labor in Hyderabad District of Sindh, Pakistan. This research also analyzes the kinds of problems faced by children at working place. A sample of 80 children was interviewed at their working place from Hyderabad district. The data was collected by using pre-designed questionnaire. Study found that the poverty and lack of government attention towards socio-economical issues are the major reasons of existing child labor in Pakistan. It is suggested that government have take effective initiatives to control the child labor in Pakistan.

sadaf Nazir

Umer Khalid

The problem of child labour persists even in the presence of trade sanctions and legislation. In fact, trade restrictions and laws are only demand side factors, and they can intensify the problem, which could result in children being diverted to less desirable or more ...

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Combating Child Labour in Pakistan: A Legal Perspective

• June 15, 2023

Introduction:

Child labour remains a global concern, affecting the lives of millions of children worldwide. Pakistan, as a developing country, has been grappling with the issue of child labour for decades. This article aims to shed light on child labour in Pakistan, exploring the legal framework in place to combat this grave problem.

Child Labour in Pakistan:

Child labour refers to the employment of children in work that is harmful to their physical and mental development, robbing them of their childhood and denying them opportunities for education. In Pakistan, child labour is prevalent in various sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, mining, domestic work, and street vending. These children often work long hours, in hazardous conditions, for meager wages, and are vulnerable to exploitation.

Legal Framework in Pakistan:

To address the issue of child labour, Pakistan has enacted several laws and regulations to protect the rights of children and eliminate child labour. The key legislations related to child labour in Pakistan include:

• The Employment of Children Act, 1991:

This act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 in any occupation. It also stipulates that children between the ages of 14 and 18 should not be employed in hazardous occupations and processes that may adversely affect their health, safety, or morals.

• The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1992:

This act aims to abolish the bonded labor system, which often leads to child labor. It prohibits the employment of children in bonded labor and provides for the release and rehabilitation of bonded laborers, including children.

• The Punjab Restriction on Employment of Children Act, 2016:

Enforced in the province of Punjab, this act imposes restrictions on the employment of children below the age of 15 in any occupation. It outlines penalties for violations and establishes monitoring and inspection mechanisms to ensure compliance.

• The National Child Labour Policy, 2020:

The National Child Labour Policy provides a comprehensive framework for addressing child labor issues. It emphasizes the importance of education, social protection, and awareness-raising campaigns to combat child labor effectively.

Challenges and Future Outlook:

While Pakistan has made progress in enacting legislation to address child labour, challenges persist in its effective implementation and enforcement. Factors such as poverty, inadequate access to quality education, social norms, and weak law enforcement mechanisms contribute to the persistence of child labour. To overcome these challenges, a multi-faceted approach involving government agencies, civil society organizations, and international cooperation is required. Strengthening the education system, enhancing labor inspections, and raising awareness among communities can significantly contribute to eradicating child labour.

Conclusion:

Child labour is a serious violation of children's rights and hampers their physical, mental, and social development. Pakistani laws, including the Employment of Children Act, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, the Punjab Restriction on Employment of Children Act, and the National Child Labour Policy, provide a legal framework to combat child labour. However, concerted efforts from all stakeholders are needed to effectively implement and enforce these laws, address the root causes of child labour, and create a society where every child can enjoy their childhood, access quality education, and realize their full potential.

(submitted by Ayesha Kabeer)

Comment / Reply From

Very informative article

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Essay on Child Labour for Students and Children

500+ words essay on child labour.

Child labour is a term you might have heard about in news or movies. It refers to a crime where children are forced to work from a very early age. It is like expecting kids to perform responsibilities like working and fending for themselves. There are certain policies which have put restrictions and limitations on children working.

The average age for a child to be appropriate to work is considered fifteen years and more. Children falling below this age limit won’t be allowed to indulge in any type of work forcefully. Why is that so? Because child labour takes away the kids opportunity of having a normal childhood, a proper education , and physical and mental well-being. In some countries, it is illegal but still, it’s a far way from being completely eradicated.

Causes of Child Labour

Child Labour happens due to a number of reasons. While some of the reasons may be common in some countries, there are some reasons which are specific in particular areas and regions. When we look at what is causing child labour, we will be able to fight it better.

Firstly, it happens in countries that have a lot of poverty and unemployment . When the families won’t have enough earning, they put the children of the family to work so they can have enough money to survive. Similarly, if the adults of the family are unemployed, the younger ones have to work in their place.

Moreover, when people do not have access to the education they will ultimately put their children to work. The uneducated only care about a short term result which is why they put children to work so they can survive their present.

Furthermore, the money-saving attitude of various industries is a major cause of child labour. They hire children because they pay them lesser for the same work as an adult. As children work more than adults and also at fewer wages, they prefer children. They can easily influence and manipulate them. They only see their profit and this is why they engage children in factories.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Eradication of Child Labour

If we wish to eradicate child labour, we need to formulate some very effective solutions which will save our children. It will also enhance the future of any country dealing with these social issues . To begin with, one can create a number of unions that solely work to prevent child labour. It should help the children indulging in this work and punishing those who make them do it.

Furthermore, we need to keep the parents in the loop so as to teach them the importance of education. If we make education free and the people aware, we will be able to educate more and more children who won’t have to do child labour. Moreover, making people aware of the harmful consequences of child labour is a must.

In addition, family control measures must also be taken. This will reduce the family’s burden so when you have lesser mouths to feed, the parents will be enough to work for them, instead of the children. In fact, every family must be promised a minimum income by the government to survive.

In short, the government and people must come together. Employment opportunities must be given to people in abundance so they can earn their livelihood instead of putting their kids to work. The children are the future of our country; we cannot expect them to maintain the economic conditions of their families instead of having a normal childhood.

{ “@context”: “https://schema.org”, “@type”: “FAQPage”, “mainEntity”: [{ “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “What causes child labour?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “Child Labour is caused by many factors. The most important one is poverty and illiteracy. When people barely make ends meet, they put their children to work so they can have food two times a day.”} }, { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “How can we prevent child labour?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”:”Strict measures can prevent child labour. Unions should be made to monitor the activities of child labour. Education must be made free to enroll more and more kids in school. We must also abolish child trafficking completely to save the children.”} }] }

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Child Labor in Pakistan Essay/Speech

Today our topic is Child Labor in Pakistan Essay/Speech. Child Labour is an alarming issue for Nations that are developing like Pakistan. So here is the Essay or Speech. So that in any competition you can speak about Child Labor in Pakistan. Pakistan is amongst those unfortunate countries in which child labor is at its peak, children who are considered to be innocent are being used to perform work that is beyond their capability which should be taken as an act of brutality. Child labor is a crime and in the constituency of Pakistan it must be penalized and should be condemned but still, it is being done without any shame, embarrassment, and freedom. Organizations are working in the country which are deliberately encouraging child labor and the most brutal and cruel act is when the children are forced to beg on the roads of the country. Various NGOs are working for the rehabilitation of such children but still, the mafias behind these activities are stronger than these NGOs.

Recently in Sialkot, a group of people was being arrested by the local police who were involved in indulging children forcefully for begging on the roads, and almost 20 of the children were rescued from them. This tells how inhuman we are getting that children who are the future of the state and who will be running the country in the upcoming time are being destroyed. Not only begging is a form of Child Labor in Pakistan, but we can also see all around our surroundings and we can find that children who should have books in their hands are having dirty plates, tools, and shoes of the people. According to a survey made in early 2013, almost 41% of the total children in the state have been exposed to child labor in one or another means. The main cause behind the popularity of child labor in Pakistan is the ever-increasing unemployment and inflation which has dragged many families below the poverty line.

Parents are forced to send their children to work instead of going to school because they don’t have the affordability and at the same time, they need an earning hand that can contribute to the expenses of the family. The government has to be blamed for making the conditions even worse due to their education policy which has restricted good and quality education only to the children of landlords and wealthy families because education in Pakistan is getting more and more expensive and beyond the affordability of many families. So under such circumstances, they have no other alternative other than sending their children to work so that they can survive in this competitive society and this will increase the rate of Child Labor in Pakistan.

Moin akhtar

I am committed to helping Pakistani students craft successful career paths by merging their individual passions with market trends. As a career counselor, we'll explore both well-established fields and modern industries to find the best fit for you. With personalized counseling and strategic planning, we aim to transform your educational journey into a thriving professional future.

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