-By Akash Pandey :
Life of little ones are
Destroyed
When child labour is
Employed
Child labour refers to the exploitation of the children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially or morally harmful.
Historical underpinnings
Pre-industrial era
Child labour forms an intrinsic part of pre industrial economics. In many societies, children as young as 13 are seen as adults and engage in the same activities as adults
Industrial revolution times
Child labour played an important role in Industrial Revolution from its onset , often brought about by economic hardship. The children of poor were expected to contribute to their family income
Early 20 th times
In the 20th century , thousands of boys were employed in glass making industries where the hazardous working conditions ,intense heat (3313 . F) would cause many health issues like eye trouble, cuts, burns and lung ailments.
21st century
Child labour is still a problem . According to data from Census 2011, the number of child laborers in India is 10.1 million of which 5.6 million are boys and 4.5 million are girls. A total of 152 million children -64 million girls and 88 million boys are estimated globally, accounting for almost one in ten of all children worldwide being the victims of child labour.
Causes
International Labour Organization (ILO) suggests that poverty is the greatest single cause behind child labour. For impoverished households, income from a child’s work is usually crucial for his or her own survival or the that of household.
Lack of meaningful alternatives, such as affordable schools and quality education, according to ILO is another major factor.
Biggeri and Mehrotra have studied the macroeconomic factors that encourage child labour. They focused their study on five Asian countries including India,Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines. They suggest that laws of child labour include both the demand and the supply side. While poverty and unavailability of good school , explain the supply side , low-paying informal economy rather than higher paying formal economy is the cause of demand side.
Effects
We know that child labour involves exploitation of children but it is vital to understand it is not only child victim but how society suffer when it is implemented.
The victims of child labour usually suffer from depression and anxiety , pushing them to destructive habits like smoking, alcoholism or drug abuse.
Formative environment of abuse also trigger lifetime of low self esteem , depression and relationship difficulties . Physiological and emotional conditions such as panic disorder ,dissociative disorder, attention deficit or hyperactivity disorder, depression, anger ,posttraumatic stress disorder and relative attachment disorder have been also noted in children who have grown up in abusive conditions.
Government Policies
Child labour is a serious problem in a country like India where we consider youth as the future of the country. Hence, to protect children from this vicious trap government has taken many steps such as:-
- Child labour(Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986
- Child labour(Prohibition and Regulation)Amendment Act,2016
- Child labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act,2017
- National Policy on Child Labour (1987)
- Constitutional Provisions for child upliftment-
- Article 21A: Right to Education .
- Article 24 : Prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc.
- Article 39: The state shall ,in particular, direct its policy toward securing – that health and strength of workers men and women and the tender age of children are not abused and that citizen are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited for their age or strength .
Conclusion
Children are the gifts of nature and we should not destroy their childhood. It cannot be denied that even after having laws, we have not yet eradicated child labour but , their are many organization like ILO, UN Convention and government schemes, the efforts of whom are accountable in reducing child labour.
More strict laws and implementation will surely reduce this problem and the society as a whole can be uplifted.