By Sathyavathi
English Essay on Child Labour | Essay on Child labour, Causes, Present scenario
Essay on Child Labour – It is common in our country to see young children hawking goods on pavements, at traffic signals, in bus stops and even in front of huge stellar shops. Some of them are hardly ten years old. It hurts to see children of a tender age waving their stuff in the only hope of making a sale.
The situation becomes more uneasy when you have your child beside you. What answers have we got for our curious children if they wonder why the kid of similar height has become a salesperson on the road?
And, what kind of future, will the small children forced to work on the streets, hotels, and various industries have? They are going to believe that money is everything in life. They are at a higher risk to become thieves and criminals. Therefore, child labour could become a source of all evils in society.
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- Essay on Child Labour – Not a new elephant in the room
- The present scenario – Child labour a global issue
- Child labour in the Indian context
- Essay on Child Labour – Measures to curb child labour
- Collective responsibility of all citizens
Essay on Child Labour – Not a new elephant in the room
When humans started settling down as societies, their primary occupation was agriculture and trade. Among farmers, artisans, and traders, it was typical to train children in their respective professions.
This was a practice when education was not formal in our society. Problems arose when some children had access to education, and others didn’t have due to ignorance or poverty. This inequality became more profound after industrialization.
Children, as labourers were easier to control and could be paid less. With the growing number of industries, the demand for labour was high, so the more impoverished families sent their children to work.
Apart from pay discrimination, children were allowed in mines and other small places where adults couldn’t go. These kinds of atrocities led to protest against child labour in the late 17th centuries in Europe and the USA.
Moreover, market crashes like great depression resulted in a drastic decrease in demand for labour. In this period, the societies began to support child labour abolishment.
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The present scenario – Child labour a global issue
According to the International labour organization’s 2018 data, there are 152 million child labourers worldwide. This is a global issue and not an isolated problem of a particular nation.
But, child labour is more prevalent in developing and underdeveloped countries. As the developed world had faced the wrath of the social evil earlier, they made strict laws and created more awareness in their society.
But the effects of industrialization was felt late in the third world. Children make up more than 10 per cent of the labour force in the Middle East, Latin America, South Asia, and Africa. These regions are affected by poverty, war, and illiteracy. Faced with extreme poverty and hunger, children are forced to leave their schools and earn money to eat.
They toil hard in factories, mines, fields, and in cheap hotels. At times, they are exposed to harmful environmental conditions that affect their health. Their mental wellbeing is impaired irrevocably. Some are too submissive, and some are too angry.
They vent out their emotions in a drastic manner like by committing suicides, stealing and murdering. Thus, child labour is one of the root cause problem leading to severe consequences and is detrimental to the development.
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Child labour in the Indian context
As per the 2016 ILO (International labour organization) data, 23.8 million children work as labourers in India. Though we have laws governing child’s rights, they are not forcefully implemented.
Moreover, the crimes are very organized, and it is not easy for the common man to fight. At places, children from economically backward classes are employed as domestic help too.
On the other hand, we have a child rights champion- Kailash Satyarthi, who rescued over 88,000 bonded and trafficked children among us. He led a global march against child labour, which crossed 103 countries to raise awareness on the issue of child trafficking and forced labour.
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Essay on Child Labour – Measures to curb child labour
In our country, the employment of children below 14 years in all occupations and processes is strictly prohibited. The UN (United Nations) works continually to create social awareness and strives to change the mindset of people so that they don’t indulge in such heinous acts.
Free education in primary schools and mid-day meals schemes were introduced in our country to prevent child labour. But often the standard is very poor in government schools and food is not provided regularly.
There have been incidents where children feel sick after having lunch in schools. It’s high time that government administration works effectively so that the apathy and fear towards government schools are put to rest.
It is worthwhile to note that the elimination of child labour in all its forms by 2025 is one of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) of the UN. To review the efforts and stay focused on its target, World Day against Child Labour is observed by the International Labour Organization on June 12th every year.
On this day, significant guidelines to tackle the problem and necessary policy measures are discussed and reviewed.
In general, we need to raise awareness among the masses through posters, plays, public debates on various channels, and social media platforms. We have to involve the youth and harsher punishments for violators are a must.
We need to identify the loopholes of the laws through which the criminals escape and close them. Frequent checks by the enforcement teams and making the system corruption free are urgent requirements in our society.
Education and empowerment of women can bring down the percentage of child labour to a large extent. When mothers are financially strong, they will not let their children work.
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Collective responsibility of all citizens
It is said that children are the future of society. Children are our greatest asset, and they are the ones who will decide the prosperity and growth of the nation. We must teach moral values and education to them.
We need to understand that nothing is permanent and our good deeds are indicators of a life well-lived. But certain sections of our society exploit them, and a good majority of us are helpless and are setting bad examples to our children.
We should stop buying from children on streets and public transport, and never allow employing children as domestic help. We should educate the children that child labour is malpractice set to ruin humanity.
These are the least things which every individual can do. One should also support orphanages and take part in initiatives like Teach for India.
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