Horrors of Domestic Chlid Labor

Photo Credits: DAWN news

To raise our voice against child labour, we should first get clear on what constitutes child labour. The Convention on the Rights of the Child declares that anyone who is under the age of eighteen is a child, and therefore they should be treated like one. Now coming to international laws related to child labour, the International Labour Organisation has many conventions addressing this issue, including ILO's Convention No. 138, which clearly sets the minimum age for labour at these standards: the general minimum age for admission to employment or work at 15 years (13 for light work) and the minimum age for hazardous work at 18 years (16 under certain strict conditions). It provides for the possibility of initially setting the general minimum age at 14 (12 for light work) where the economy and educational facilities are insufficiently developed". According to the above-mentioned convention and the ILO's Convention No. 189 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, no child is allowed to work in a dangerous work environment anywhere in the world.

Fortunately, Pakistan has ratified this convention and has set the minimum age for employment at 14, but is unfortunately unable to implement it. Article 11.3 of the Constitution of Pakistan says, "No child below the age of fourteen years shall be engaged in any factory, mine, or any other hazardous employment."

picture by DAWN news

Particularly in Pakistan, child labour is increasing rapidly due to many causes, including poverty, unemployment, and inflation. Child labour itself has many types, including children working in factories or kilns, forced child labour, and domestic child labour. There is a perception, specifically in undeveloped countries like India and Pakistan, that domestic child labour is less dangerous and threatening to a child. Parents of children involved in domestic child labour believe that their children are safer at home than working in a factory or kiln. The reality is different; domestic labour can be a far greater threat to a child in some cases because the child is left in someone's private space where there is no accountability. mentioning the horrible housemaid torture by judge's wife case in Islamabad and recently another case in which a woman was arrested from the G-15 sector for allegedly torturing her 13-year-old maid, reported by Dawn News. The question is: how many of these invisible domestic child workers are being employed in Pakistan? The answer is unknown because there are no statistics. Researchers can go to factories and kilns and collect data about children working there, but it is not possible for a researcher to go to every house and check if they are employing a child or not.

Now, what can we do? We can change people's minds. We can change the perception of society through social media. We can look around our neighbourhood and run awareness campaigns against child labour, and we can call out people involved in domestic child labour. We can simply say no to child labour, whether it is happening in factories or at home.