On June 12th, World Day Against Child Labour was observed
KARACHI: On June 12th, World Day Against Child Labour was observed worldwide and Pakistan too marked the day with rallies on streets asking for a stop to the menace of child labour. The country, despite having laws in place that bans child labour and penalises the act has seen a significant number of under-aged children working in shops and factories. Many also work at homes as domestic workers.
But while the laws lack implementation and should be enforced, what often gets overlooked in the debate against child labour is the reason behind a number of parents willingly sending their little ones to work. Activists and other advocates against child labour don’t realised that banning child labour is just one part of the problem.
Children coming from underprivileged poor families work to support their families. They either act as a helping hand for their large families or are the only breadwinners. Under these circumstances children after children are forced to take up odd jobs or work as domestic workers for affluent families. And while the state passes laws to ban child labour it does little to provide for these families whose livelihood is dependent on these child labourers. Efforts to provide the adults — men or women — of these families with job opportunities or a state-funded education for their children are nowhere to be found.
This is no to say that child labour should not be banned but that it should not be limited to just that. The state has the responsibility to provide for the poor and activists against child labour should advocate for a holistic approach.
Ramsha Jhanzaib
Published in The Express Tribune, June 15th, 2018.
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