Taslim Ahammad :
Millions of children around the world are trapped in child labour, depriving them of their childhood, their health and education, and condemning them to a life of poverty and want. Home to over millions child workers, Bangladesh has been the subject of global concern regarding children’s rights and child labour. Children even carry out a very wide range of risky tasks and activities when they work.
Child labour: Child labour is the work that mentally, physically, socially, or morally dangerous and harmful to children or interferes with their education. Also it deprives children of their childhood, their potential, and their dignity.
Cause: Firstly, due to economic hardships and social norms, most children are forced to give up their studies and start working in order to support their families.
Secondly, labour is lack of awareness and tradition. As most of the people are unaware of the concept of child labour and its vices, most parents do not object to their children working, rather they encourage it. Parents, especially in the rural areas, fail to comprehend that lack of proper schooling or training which will eventually trap their families in a cycle of low paying jobs.
Finally, employers can force child workers into submission when the children are dependent on them for food, lodging and even emotional support.
Consequence: Firstly, Children are exposed to injuries and abuses like cuts, burns and lacerations, fractures, tiredness and dizziness, excessive fears and nightmares.
Secondly, child labour does more than deprive children of their education and mental and physical development – their childhood is stolen.
Finally, long-term health problems, such as respiratory disease, asbestosis and a variety of cancers, are common in countries where children are forced to work with dangerous chemicals.
Solution: Child labour is preventable, not inevitable. UNICEF believes that effective action against child labour requires children to be placed squarely at the centre of programmes designed to protect children’s rights. Looking at child labour through a broader lens – addressing the full range of children’s vulnerabilities and protection challenges – comes as a result of the recognition that these wider concerns are not always fully addressed in action against child labour. For more information on UNICEF’s approach to tackling child labour, click here.
Approach to stop:
Invest ethically
Educate the society
Refer buyers’ requirements
Contact government leaders
Carry out workplace risk assessment
Remove children from hazardous work
Review national laws regarding child labour
Stop hiring children below the minimum age
Contact local, regional, and national legislators
Buy fair trade and sweatshop-free products whenever possible
Public schools can alter their curriculum to include more useful vocational training so that students are likely to find work easily.
Raising awareness about child labour by both the government and by NGO’s through awareness forums, leaflets, advertisements, movies, and so on.
Not only always because of poverty, but also lack of consciousness on of the guardian, hence, need to increase awareness among the guardians.
Create more job opportunities in the rural areas so that people are less tempted to move to the city where they eventually fall into financial hardship and have to send their children to work Finally, UNICEF also works with employers and the private sector to assess and address the impact of their supply chain and business practices upon children, and promote programmes that contribute to the elimination of child labour through sustainable solutions to address its root causes
Child labour is an ugly reality that still exists in our society. Therefore, the UNICEF partners with civil society, government, NGO and organizations to support a holistic child protection approach, advocate across all stakeholders to end child labour. Children are extremely vulnerable and the current conditions in our country allow corrupt employers to exploit them. It is our duty to ensure that they are protected and can make the best out of their situations so that they can also have a chance for a brighter future.
(Taslim Ahammad, Assistant Professor, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University, Gopalganj, Bangladesh.)
