Spare their innocence

This week, You! takes a look at the current scenario of child labour in Pakistan...

In a country where according to estimates 60% of the population of Pakistan is poor and earns less than $2 per day - i.e. a little less than Rs. 250 - children are only seen as earners to provide for a large family. The more children a family has, the better chances it has of getting at least two meals a day. For such families, each pair of hands adds to the finances and helps to keep them from starving. It also helps these families find employment that requires no skills as babysitters or gofers to do chores around the house since they work for low wages compared to someone with experience.

Poor families try to get their children employed as domestic help since the child usually lives the family. These children are left at very young ages - sometimes as young as 6-7 years - as domestic help with promises of some money, free lodging and food. Sometimes education is also a part of the package offered by the employers but this is mostly lip service. The safety or security of the child are not taken into consideration by anyone, not even the parents.

There is little that can be done that will stop the influx of juvenile workers to work in different sectors because of the increase in poverty. A number of cases of violence against juvenile domestic servants have been brought to the front. But there are probably hundreds of stories that do not make it to the media - especially stories of children working in other sectors like brick making; mines; textile industries and as unpaid trainees with mechanics; plumbers; electricians etc. Their stories of torture and different forms of abuse go untold and the society looks the other way.

Beatings by seniors and ustads (teachers) in these fields are considered as character building techniques and part of the process of learning the trade. Children, mainly boys, are sent by their parents so that their child learns a trade and does not land up as unskilled labour. True, the skills they learn allow them to improve their earnings as compared to if they worked in other professions. But the ‘training’ process is not only tough but humiliating for a child of such a tender age.

Since, there are no ‘laws’ enforced, these children face the worst treatment possible and no one comes to their aid.

In the late 2016, the case of 10-year-old Tayyaba made it to the headlines. The torturous plight of the juvenile maid gave us chills down the spine. Her pictures with injuries became viral on social media and then were aired by some local news channels. According to the media reports, Tayyaba’s employer’s wife had burned her hand because she had misplaced a broom. The cruel woman didn’t seem to think that this was enough to punish the innocent lass, so she went on to beat her with a ladle, detained her in a storeroom all the while threatening her with dire consequences.

The juvenile maid worked as a domestic help at Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Raja Khurram Ali Khan’s house. Surely, ADSJ Khan would be aware about the details of the laws pertaining to child labour in Pakistan and Article 11 (3) of the Constitution which states: “(3) No child below the age of fourteen years shall be engaged in any factory or mine or any other hazardous employment.”

ADSJ would also be aware of the first two sections of the same that emphasise:

“(1) Slavery is non-existent and forbidden and no law shall permit or facilitate its introduction into Pakistan in any form.

(2) All forms of forced labour and traffic in human beings are prohibited.”

However, not only was Tayyaba working in his house, she was tortured as the pictures shared on social media revealed her situation. She had injuries on her face, her eyes were swollen black and blue telling of the nightmare the child must have endured.

Little Tayyaba’s case also highlighted the conditions under which a large number of children from low income families work as house servants. It is interesting that despite Tayyaba working at a judge’s house, the police actually took action to rescue her on the complaints of the neighbours which is quite uncommon. The perpetrators despite their high social standing were exposed and punished - although some may argue that the punishment does not fit the crime - but in a country like Pakistan where the majority lament the weak justice system, this was indeed a landmark case.

Tayyaba is not alone; there have been many other cases that share a similar story. In 2016, Hanif, a teenager who worked in a house in Karachi, was also beaten to death by the employer after he asked her for a leave because he was unwell. He was refused the leave and was put back to look after the employer’s child. Hanif dropped the child, after which he was severely beaten by a stick.

According to the Child Rights Movement (CRM) National Secretariat (2016) more than 12.5 million children were part of the labour force. A year later in 2017 - according to a survey conducted by the Federal Bureau of Statistics - the number of child labour had increased by five million stood at 19 million. Child labour in extreme forms, according to ILO, involves “children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities - often at a very early age.”

Combating child labour

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has helped in developing successful initiatives for different fields in order to combat child labour. Fields such as, making soccer balls, surgical instruments, glass bangles, carpet weaving, rag-picking along with working at auto-workshops, brick kiln sectors, leather tanneries, coalmines, as domestic help and deep sea fishing. Not only has ILO focused on child labour in the traditional fields of work, but thousands of child labourers in the earthquake affected areas have been rehabilitated.

Apart from this, the ILO has also worked focusing on a more micro level by helping the local authorities to develop a localised approach by forming a District Model that will help improve the capacity of and provide the district governments to address the issue.

The ILO helped Pakistan’s Ministry of Labour to work on capacity building and to establish five child labour units at not only the federal but the provincial level to address the issue in detail.

This only means the government just needs to get its house in order and work out a way to prevent children from being sent to work for a living. This can be achieved if the financial issues of families are reduced by proper strategies and economic subsidies.

The government could offer monetary incentives - as is being done by some private organisations not only in Pakistan but also in other countries - for every child that is sent to at least primary school. This incentive will undoubtedly increase the enrolment of the children into schools and also help in alleviating the literacy of the country.

Some may not agree that domestic servants are child labourers. But according to ILO, most of the work that these children do as domestic workers will come under child labour. ILO states that, “Not all work done by children should be classified as child labour that is to be targeted for elimination. Children’s or adolescents’ participation in work that does not affect their health and personal development or interfere with their schooling, is generally regarded as being something positive.”

According to studies conducted by them, there are around 152 million children between the ages of 5-17 years who are working as labourers around the world. A large number of children are deprived of education, which translates to a future population deprived of health, education, skills and opportunities to improve their lifestyles by getting better jobs.

The government doesn’t have to build a policy or develop a mechanism from scratch as ILO has already set the basis. It is providing technical assistance to facilitate elimination of child labour in the country through its International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC).

Also, the Ministry of Labour and Manpower, Pakistan Employers Federation and Pakistan Workers Federation have agreed on the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) that elimination of child labour in Pakistan is a priority.

Until the government actually makes strong rules and implements the existing laws, families will keep sending their young children to work to share the burden of supporting the family. Moreover, the authorities need to focus on the health of these children as provided under the constitution, which is something to think about in the upcoming elections.