Child Labor in Pakistan

Child Labor is work that is mentally or physically dangerous, work that interferes with their ability to go to school which can affect their income-earning potential as adults. The health and wellbeing of child laborers are at risk, and they can end up being trapped in a cycle of poverty.

There are so many causes of child Labour creating;

1. Over-Population: Due to limited resources and more mouths to feed, children are employed in various forms of work.
2. Illiteracy: As People will uneducated, they won’t realize the importance of education for their children.
3. Poverty: Many times, poverty forces parents to send their children to hazardous jobs. Although they know it's wrong.
4. Orphans: Children with no parents and relatives often don’t find anyone to support them. Thus, they forced to work for their own living.
5. Family Background: Families also lose their livelihood as a result of natural disasters and humanitarian crises that leave people destitute and force children to start earning.
6. Class-Based education system: It is another important cause for increasing child labour in rural areas.

Yesterday I was passing from Kareem Block, Lahore, and stopped on Chowk due to traffic Light 🚦 , a child came and said Please buy this mask. He was a very cute boy. I bought the mask while I have already and asked him, “Do you Study?”(translated in English) and honestly speaking at the time, the innocence I feel on his face I can’t describe in words. He said, “No, my father is not alive.”(translated in English). I asked him, “Do you want to study” then he said, “Yes !”.

I also experienced such an experience near my home when a child. He was begging. I felt so bad that due to financial circumstances, these children are forced for these types of things. I know that the only thing, the happiness you achieve by helping others has another level. 😊

I want to help these types of children with my Amal circle fellows by convincing their parents to please study them. And we will try to do some financial help for these types of people in our community. We will try to provide sewing-related skills to their mothers so that they can earn on their own by sitting at home. And their child goes to school to study. As childhood is the most important part of human life.

Pakistan is among the top ten countries having the issue of child labor. Children below 5–15 are 40 million in Pakistan.50% of these economically active children are in age groups of 5–19 years. According to research, 2.7 million children are working in the agriculture sector.73% of them are boys and others are girls.

30% of our country’s total population is leading life below the poverty line, in which people are deprived of basic necessities of clothing, shelter, food, education, and medication. The children of these people will be forced to become Labour's or workers in order to survive.

Child Labour is an important issue as it can result in extreme bodily and mental harm and it cuts off children from schooling and health care , restricting their fundamental rights and threatening their future

(Problem Statement)

Even Elite class families hire children as servants or to take care of their children that’s also very wrong. It's also a violation of their rights. They should spend money on child education instead of this. It destroys children both mentally and physically.

The child Labor issue can be solved by :

1. Eliminate Poverty
2. Enforce Labour Laws
3. Encourage Education
4. Abolish Child Trafficking's
5. Promote Fair Trade
6. Replace working children with working Adults.

Awareness must be raised and parents should pay attention to the education of their children. Children's Labor Laws should be strictly put into practice.

We have to distribute education free of cost, give flame to the candle of education and distribute the light of knowledge among the people as our Holy Prophet(P.B.U.H) also says that ;

“get knowledge and distribute among other.”

“Children should have pens in their hands, not tools.”