CHILD LABOR
“Childhood means simplicity. Look at the world with the child’s eye- it is very beautiful”.

- Kailash Satyarthi

Childhood is the period to learn, enjoy, play, and to cherish those moments. It’s a phase of life where our aspirations and dreams change day to day. It’s a period where studies are our biggest commitment, friends and friendship seems to be our world, exams are haunting and fight between siblings seems to be a never ending world war. Each day spices us and adds colors to our childhood. Fortunately, a major portion of children around the world enjoys these precious moments. Yet there are a few children who stay in the unfortunate category of losing such preferences and are pushed or forced in the world of labor. The underground black world is called “child labor”. This term seems to be a common but most of us leave it unnoticed. It is not that we purposely leave it unnoticed but we do not feel the importance of the seriousness of it.
Child Labor:
Child labor is generally defined as work that children are too young to do or that harms their health or keeps from school. Child labor is a serious cancer that erodes our society as a whole. It is a threat to our country’s future. Children who are supposed to catch a writing weapon are forced to catch tools. Children are deprived from their rights to enjoy their childhood. When a child is asked or forced to work deprives him of childhood activities playing and studying. Child labor is a crime against humanity. Child labor at many times turns out to be an abusive one.  Before going on to the types and how child labor arises, let’s look into some of the shocking statistics and facts on child labor.
International Arena:

• In the least developed countries on e in four children(age 5-14) are engaged in labor that is considered detrimental to their health and development
• Around 13% of children aged 5-14 in developing countries are involved in child labor.
• Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest proportion of child labor with 25% of children aged 5-14 years.
• Eastern Europe and the common wealth independent states (CEE/CIS) are the regions with the lowest rate of child labor.
• In almost all regions boys and girls are equally likely to be involved in child labor.
• Two exceptions are the Middle East and North Africa and Latin America and Caribbean, where boys are slightly more likely than girls to be engaged in child labor.

Indian Sub- Continent:

• One in every 11 children in India is working
• Child labor has been decreasing at an abysmal rate of 2.2% per year from 2001-2011( as per analysis of census data by the non-governmental organization  CRY (Child Right and You))
• 80% of working children as based in rural areas and the 3 out 4 of these children work in agriculture, as cultivators or in household industries, most of which are home based employments.
• More boys (38.7 million) than girls (8.8 million) are involved hazardous work.
• More than half of the 5.5 million working children in India are concentrated in five states- Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

 

To Be Continued……
In The Next Article We Are Going To Discuss About The Cruel Sides And Types Of Child Labor. We Are Also Going To Deal On How, We, As Children Can Try To Rectify This Error..

J.Steffey Sherine
Kids Prodigy Writer and Social worker,
Tuticorin.