12 June, The World Against Child Labour…
12 June is the date which is celebrated as the ANTI CHILD LABOUR DAY. The ILO (INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION), the UN Body took the initiative of the International Programme on the elimination of child labour which is called IPEC in the year 1992. Child Labour is done almost all over the world. Research says almost 4.35 million children are away from home and are forced to live a miserable life because of their poverty and wretched family condition. Thus millions of children have to be the victim of hazardous child labour.
Child labour is a curse all over the world. Teenagers are seen to work in vulnerable places like construction sites, brick fields. Child labour is actually snatching the education and innocence of children and making them employed for any workplace. Childhood is the happiest and most innocent stage of life. But these children are deprived of going to school and playing and thus taking away their childhood. This also has a physical and mental effect on children. The factors of child labour are- the children’s families’ indebtedness, illiteracy of child’s family, the economic condition of the children’s families- all these force them to be dropouts from school and leave education. According to UNICEF, “Children are employed because they are cheap and pliable to the demands of the employer and are not aware of these rights.” Right to Education is a birthright and these children are deprived of this right. DEFINITION OF CHILD LABOUR AS PER INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION(ILO)
“ Not all the children should be classified as child labour that is targeted for elimination. Children’s or adolescent’s participation in work that does not affect their health and personal development or interfere with schooling, is generally regarded as being something positive. This includes activities such as helping their parents around the home, assisting in a family business or earning pocket money outside the college hours or during school holidays. These kinds of activities contribute to the children’s development and to the welfare of their families. They provide them with skills and experience and help to prepare them to be productive members of society during their adult life.
The term child labour is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity and is harmful to physical and mental development.”
Efforts are taken by many organizations and NGOs to stop child labour. We all should join the initiatives to stop child labour. We should create awareness among such parents by interacting with them and should tell them the importance of their children’s Right to Education. The effects of child labour should also be discussed with them.
So, on this Anti Child Labour’s Day let us join hands to eradicate child labour totally from the world and give all the children their rights because every child is special in their own way.
Writer:- Chandrani Palit
