In Pakistan, a country where almost half of the population lives below the poverty line, child labor is deeply entrenched and pressing phenomenon that is large in scope, and with very important social and economic implications. It takes a variety of forms, from children working on family farms or in family businesses to children engaged in sweatshop labor, prostitution, armed conflict or other illicit activity. It also has serious implications on human capital accumulation and in perpetuating poverty and therefore is closely linked to progress against the SDGs.
According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), about 3.3 million Pakistani children are threatened by child labour that deprives them of their childhood, health and education.
Child labor has been prevalent in Pakistan in all the sectors of the economy, though it mostly exists in informal sector of employment and in the home based industry. In late nineties, the matter of child labor emerged as a serious consideration due to international exposure. In 1996, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto acknowledged the problem of child labor in the country and announced the plan to eliminate it. In his speech in April 1998, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stated that the problem of child labor occupied a prominent place in the agenda of government of Pakistan. In 1999, Federal minister for labor and manpower, Shaikh Rashid announced a four point policy for curbing child labor in Pakistan. In Jan-99, government announced the draft of the labor policy. The policy envisaged that the government is committed to end child labor. It was also promised by the government of Pakistan in 2000, that the law to eliminate child labor and bonded labor at an economic level would be implemented in 2002 and till 2005; there would be no bonded labor or child labor in Pakistan. Even after so much regulations and promises by the government of Pakistan, the attempt has not been successful till now. Though the issue has received international attention and organizations at international level like ILO and UNICEF are participating in the issue, still the improvement in this case is very slow.
Mehmil Khalid, writing a blog post in Dunya News said that despite signing various international conventions and incorporating Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in its policy framework, the menace of child labour has not left Pakistan.
The exploitation of children in terms of physical, sexual, economic and emotional violence has been acting as a continuous impediment in their growth and development in Pakistan.
From a very early age, children indulge in rigorous domestic or industrial works to support their families. Poverty, lack of access to basic facilities and unregistered birth are some of the reasons for this issue that has been haunting Pakistan.
According to UNICEF, living a life of poverty bars them from enjoying what their other age fellows are having around the world. It was estimated that almost a quarter of women aged 20-49 were married before the age of 15, and 31 per cent before eighteen years of age.
Also, only 34 per cent of children under five are registered at birth nationally. The registration of birth is the fundamental right of children as it gives the legal proof of child’s existence and identity and saves them from unjust social norms such as early marriages, wrote Khalid.
In Pakistan, despite observing UN Child Labour Laws, it has become a common sight to hire children for performing household chores especially young girls whom women find easy to get along with. They pay their parents heavily in return and sometimes bribe them who in the greed of wealth sign a lifelong pact with those families that enables them to earn a good source of livelihood, reported Dunya News.
Pakistan passed a law under the Employment of Children Act 1991 that prohibits employing children under 14 years of age in unsafe and hazardous environments such as factories, carpet industries and mines. However, it is worth mentioning here that this piece of legislation only restricts child labour up to the age of 14. This harbingers the revisiting of the composition of this act and demands proper “definition of the child” in the constitution to escape any illegal future practice, says Khalid.
Furthermore, child labour is also present in various industries where the unscrupulous owners of the mills and factories employ young children and take from them heavy physical work that too on limited wages. In order to take maximum advantage of child labour, they convince their parents and the children that by doing such works they will be able to learn new skills that would be far better than what they acquire from school. Children bearing the onus of earning bread for their families succumb to their unfair dealings, leaving education and a bright career as their “unaccomplished belongings.”
Khalid advised the Pakistani Government to implement the legislation to meet the national and international standards. Experts urge the state to ban domestic child work and plan to assign a proper age of employment in the constitution especially the minimum age of hazardous work that still does not meet international standards. They reiterate that the birth of a child should be registered, and stern action should be taken against the families who show negligence in this regard.