DR BANARSI LAL
Every year 12th of June is celebrated as the World Day against Child Labour (WDACL) across the globe to focus attention on the barbaric practice of child labour and to find ways to eradicate it. This day provides us an opportunity to gain support from governments, schools, civil society, youths and women groups as well as print and electronic media to eradicate the menace of child labour. This day was firstly launched by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 2002 to highlight the menace of child labour.
The theme of World Day Against Child Labour 2024 is “Let’s Act on Our Commitments: End Child Labor” which emphasizes the need for collective action to eradicate child labour and protect children from exploitation. According to International Labour Organization (ILO), child labour is defined as the work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to the children and interferes with their schooling by depriving them of the opportunity to attend school and obliging them to leave school prematurely.
It has been observed that the poverty and lack of social security are the major causes of child labour. There are many cases of physical, sexual and emotional abuse of child domestic workers.
It is said that children are the greatest creation of God. They are born for love and affection. They are the future of any nation. Children are considered as the most important asset of any nation and if the children future is healthy, safe and secure then automatically nation’s future will be bright and safe. They should not be subjugated to unbearable pain. Their dreams are stolen by some persons of society.
It is said that whatever is done to children, they will do to the society. Childhood is the happiest period for everybody life during which one learns about the basic strategy of life from the family members, others and nature. We celebrate many important days like Children’s Day, Human Rights Day, Teachers Day, Literacy Day, World Environment Day and Mother’s Day and so on. We observe the rituals but actually we ignore the basic purpose of these rituals. We see many important persons accompanied by their cronies spinning the wheel on Gandhiji birthday every year and after that we forget that great hero (Gandhiji) for the rest of year.
Similarly, we celebrate the Children Day on November 14 when we see VIPs sitting along with orphans and participate in some special programmes.
We observe many such anniversaries to attract the attention of others towards ourselves. Now the question arises- are we caring for children who become the responsible citizens of future? Millions of children of world undergo the different forms of child labour which includes child slavery, child prostitution, child trafficking, child soldiers etc. Child labour is a heinous crime, an offence and it is an old phenomenon which has increased with the increase in the industrializations and capitalism.
Economically child is considered as the least active member of an economy but socially children are the foundation of a nation. Psychologically childhood represents most tender phase where the child needs love, freedom and protection. In present era of technological advancement, children are being callously exploited almost in every country of the world.
According to International Labour Organisation (ILO), there are about 152 million children globally who are engaged in child labour.72 million children do hazardous work.
It has also been observed that the most of poor families send their children for work. Child labour is the great evil which has been created by the parents of poor children due to poverty and lack of awareness of education. Efforts to Eradicate this evil have come to naught. These children are working under hazardous conditions. Their safety is the last concern.
The working children toil for 15 hours every day in dingy and cramped places, producing some products that fetch huge profits for their owners. The condition of many work places is really unhealthy. According to experts, access to primary education could alleviate the problem to a great extent. In our country, elementary education has been made as a fundamental right. There is a need to make a beginning in this direction. It depends on us as how we can make this Fundamental Right a reality. Tamil Nadu introduced the midday meal scheme as a technique to increase the enrolment of children in the schools. Now the midday meal scheme has been implemented in all over the country. There is need to provide safe infrastructure and teachers to our school children.
Many children are sexually abused throughout their life. The offenders are known to them but even then there is no one with them for their safety. They are traumatized throughout their life. We often read such types of instances in different daily publications. The children from tourist places are also sexually abused.
In many places we often read about the rackets trading of children. These types of rackets promote the child prostitution. We don’t have the estimation of children who are sexually abused because their fathers are languishing in prison and their mothers are trapped in red light areas.
What type of future can be expected of such children whose life suddenly halts before they begin it? Does anyone care for them? Or they left alone to tend themselves? Some Non-Government Organizations’ (NGOs) are taking care for them and provide necessary commodities to these children. Some of NGOs set homes for these disadvantaged and deprived children. We come across child beggars and we can’t make out which one is genuine and which one is spurious.
There are inter-state rackets that maim or blind children, making them objects of pity in order to get their due from people who sympathize with such people. There are plenty of laws for the beggars but they are rarely implemented. We observe the street children everywhere, in markets, railway stations and in cities.
They struggle during day and night for their livelihood. Some work as rag-pickers and some are shoeshine boys. They hardly have any place to sleep and no roof to protect them from sunshine and rains. They don’t have any blanket or quilt to protect them in chilly conditions of January. Some NGOs should be applauded who work for them. Although India has been partially successful in arresting the growth of child labour, this evil still persists to the tune of outnumbering the population of many nations.
Child marriage is one of the examples which still exists in some parts of our country. Even our law has failed to curb this menace. It is not easy to change the attitu
de of a person even with a strict law. The evils like corruption, dowry, child marriage, rape, prostitution etc. still flourish in the society despite law. Reforms must come from within and not from without. While child marriage is conducted in a clandestine manner in Karnataka in the guise of mass marriage, it is a hardy annual in states like Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
In May 2003, the Supreme Court of India issued notices to many states to prevent the child marriages. The petitioners pointed out that though poverty and illiteracy contributed to child marriages, the evil spawned far reaching consequences.
A young girl is not properly physically and mentally developed due to child marriage and her joy of childhood and personality development is deprived. Many children are thrown away after birth when they are born out of wedlock. Many children are left in the cradles of fondling homes or child care centres of the State Councils of Child Welfare functioning under the Indian Council of Child Welfare. Many children are given to adoptive parents. Extraordinary efforts are needed to eliminate the barbaric child labour.
(The writer is Chief Scientist and Head of KVK, Reasi (Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology-Jammu).