It is good to note that various initiatives taken by the government to eradicate child labour have helped Bangladesh lower the number of children in hazardous labour. The number of children aged between 5 and 17 years engaged in hazardous work has reduced from 12,80,195 to 10,68,212 since 2013, according to the findings of the National Child Labour Survey 2022. However, the number of children engaged in child labour in Bangladesh increased by 4.5 per cent in the last one decade to 17.76 lakh now from 16.98 lakh in 2013.
It is disconcerting to note that despite having a ban, child labour still goes unabated in the country. Child labour is not only a cause but also a consequence of social inequities reinforced by discrimination. Child labour reinforces cycles of poverty and undermines national economies. Children who are trapped in child labour are deprived of their childhood, health and education.
It is disconcerting to note
that despite having a ban,
child labour still goes
unabated in the country
We live in such a hierarchical social structure where families from middle class to rich class employ children as their domestic workers. Being deprived of their basic rights such children are compelled to work as domestic helps at urban households.
Poverty, lack of social security and mass-consciousness, lawlessness, wrong implementation of laws and child right acts are the main reasons pushing millions of our children to give labour to earn their livelihood and help their family. On top of that, in Bangladesh we don’t have any comprehensive public arrangement to address child labour. Also, a lack of sufficient support services for children prevents full implementation of existing government laws and policies.
It is time to address the issue of hazardous child labour with redesigned policy interventions. We hope that the government will look forward to strictly implementing existing laws and provisions to put the opportunist employer who engage children to avail benefit of cheap labour behind the bar.
Besides implementing laws and provisions and making policies and ensuring proper implementation of them, what is further needed is to add-up a layer of consciousness among mass people about child labour.
