Child labor or child labor refers to the exploitation of children through any
form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their
ability to attend regular school. It not only harms the children physically,
but also mentally and socially. Children deserve education so that they can
grow up to shape the future of their countries, but instead due to various reasons
that will be mentioned below, they are forced to work in harsh conditions.
These conditions are harmful for even adults let alone children who end up
losing their lives.
Few Facts about Child Labor in Pakistan
One country that is huge in the number of child labor is Pakistan.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimated that in the 1990s,
11 million children were working in the country, half of whom were under
age ten. In Sindh, Province, 21.5 percent of children ages 5 to 14 are working.
About 11 million children in Pakistan perform domestic tasks and work in agriculture.
Other children work alongside their families as bonded laborers in the brick industry.
The use of this type of forced child labor in Pakistan happens in the brick, carpet and
coal industries.
Laws
Regardless of Pakistan’s introduction of the Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act 1992,
bonded labor still exists due to the country not having enough resources to enforce child
labor laws. In 2018, labor law agencies have acted against child labor in Pakistan and are
still working toward closing gaps that allow child labor to exist. According to the law,
employers who use bonded labor risk punishment of imprisonment for a term of at
least two years and a maximum of five years, or a fine of at least PKR 50,000 or both.
The Employment of Children Act: To combat the worst form of child labor in Pakistan,
more provinces are enforcing laws. The Employment of Children Act states that a child
or adolescent cannot work more than seven hours a day which includes one hour of rest
during that time. A child also cannot work between the hours of 7 p.m. and 8 a.m.
The minimum age for hazardous work is 14 years in Balochistan and ICT, and 18 years
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh.
Carpet Industry
Pakistan still has the worst form of child labor which includes hazardous work
that can damage children’s health and development, or worse, put their lives at risk.
Children working in carpet factories sometimes work up to 20 hours a day, seven days
a week, and often sleep and eat at their place of work. Many children end up with
eyesight and lung issues due to the amounts of dust they come in contact with on a
daily basis.
UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) believes that children aged 4 to
14 make up to 90 percent of the carpet industry’s workforce. Workshop owners
manipulate parents into believing that their children will learn new skills that
outweigh any knowledge gained at school. Such manufacturers target children
because they can pay them significantly less than adult weavers which allows
them to compete with other companies by offering a quality product at a lesser price.
How to stop it?
At a federal level, the minimum age for hazardous work in Pakistan still does
not meet international standards. However, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab
and Sindh provinces meet the minimum age standards, above 18. Punjab Province
also put a law into effect in early 2019 that bans domestic work for children under
the age of 15.
Many children in Pakistan must work in order to pay off their familial debt
or contribute to the familial monthly expenses, but the main cause for concern
is that even after many advancements in 2018, the worst form of child labor still
exists. With more resources to enforce child labor laws and consistency on a federal
level, the world could see an end to the worst form of child labor in Pakistan.
