On an individual level, we can ameliorate this flaw in our society by taking the responsibility of educating one child
KARACHI: The problem of child labour is an important and serious global issue, which in countries like Pakistan, has grown exponentially. One of the basic rights of children is to enjoy their childhood. They are not to bear the responsibilities of adults while they are still so young. Poverty-stricken families often have several children because they believe that the more children they have, the more people there will be to earn money for the family. So all of them are put to work as soon as they turn five or six years of age. It is not lawful to deprive children of education and their childhood because of poverty.
The government deducts zakat on a yearly basis through the banking system but never properly distributes it among the poor, due to which people are deprived of their rights. Rampant corruption has only caused the rich to get richer and the poor to become poorer. We, the educated people, are also at fault because we don’t hesitate in hiring children to run our household and other errands when adults can easily perform these tasks too. On an individual level, we can ameliorate this major flaw in our society by taking the responsibility of educating one child, whereas on a macro level, it is the duty of the government to provide people their basic needs.
Tayyaba Tahir
Published in The Express Tribune, February 16th, 2015.
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