The Asia-Pacific region has the largest number of child workers in the 5-14 age group in the world – some 127 million, about 60 per cent of working children worldwide. (Source = ILO Report on Labour and Social Trends in Asia and the Pacific, 2005) Photo source: http://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/laborctr/child_labor/about/what_is_child_labor.html
While statistics on the number of economically-active children vary, a conservative estimate is that some 20-30 million live in the five large South Asian countries. Children’s workforce participation rates—the ratio of the number of child workers to the child population— range from just above 1 percent in Sri Lanka to more than 27 percent in Nepal. The rates vary by states/provinces within countries and tend to be higher among boys and in rural areas. The higher workforce participation rates among boys is due to the fact that girls work in informal sectors, such as within the home or as housemaids, which are harder to capture by statistics. http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/sar/sa.nsf/2991b676f98842f0852567d7005d2cba/6114c3934c4776238525696000487390?OpenDocument
For further discussion of this dispute, see New Internationalist Magazine, No. 292, July 1997 issue on Child Labor. On the outskirts of Dhaka, children heat and mix rubber in a barrel at a balloon factory. Thousands of kids in Bangladesh are forced to work to help earn money for their struggling families. http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/specials/articles/0,6709,1043572,00.html
India This 9-year-old girl used to work long hours weaving rugs in a carpet factory. Today, she is enrolled in a Rugmark school in Bari Bisa, India. Rugmark is an organization working to end child labor and provide educational opportunities for children. For child laborers all over the world, education is the ticket to a better future. http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/specials/articles/0,6709,1043589,00.html
Circus performers, India 1995: The contortionist epitomizes life as a circus performer. Children work long hours, practice dangerous acts, and only the best and those who manage to survive continue their lives as performers. A circus may have dozens of small children; there are few teenagers and fewer adult performers. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/gallery/gallery01.html (These photos were taken by David Parker, MD and MPH, and displayed at the Harvard School of Public Health’s online gallery.)
Garbage Pickers, India 1993 and 1995 I was born when the sun becomes weak And slowly becomes extinct In the embrace of night. I was born on the footpath In a rag. Excerpted from V.S. Naipul, India: A Million Mutinies Now , attributed to Namdeo. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/gallery/gallery15.html
Electroplate worker, India 1993: The educated use of protective equipment by electroplaters is extremely important in preventing contact with various metals and acids. The minimum protective equipment should include gloves, aprons, boots, and chemical handlers' goggles. Aprons should c ome below the top of the boots. In addition to poorly fitted and inadequate protection, this photograph is a graphic illustration of the size disproportion between the children and the protective equipment offered to them. Children work in a world that is designed by and for adults. Children are rarely if ever considered in the development of protective equipment. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/gallery/gallery04.html
Metal worker, India 1995: Children in factories such as this make polished metal tableware. They use high speed polishing machines and the noise in these factories is overwhelming. No doubt most of the workers suffer hearing loss from the loud noise. Dozens of children and adults crowd into a small block building and make cups, saucers, and other tableware. The air is hot and dusty, filled with fine grit from aluminum, brass, or stainless steel. The noise levels exceed occupational standards. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/gallery/gallery06.html http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/gallery/gallery07.html
Carpet Weaver, Nepal 1993: There are between 60 and 115 million child laborers in India; of these, at least 15 million work as bonded laborers. Bonded labor refers to working in a condition of servitude in order to pay a debt. Most often the debt is incurred by a child's parents or relatives. The debt is paid-off by labor. Children sold into debt bondage work long hours for many years in order to pay the debt. According to Human Rights Watch, "while India leads the world in the number of bonded child laborers, debt servitude is a significant problem in Pakistan and Nepal as well. Nor are contemporary forms of slavery confined to South Asia; previous Human Righ ts Watch reports have document forced labor in Kuwait, Brazil, Thailand, and the Dominican Republic." In India and Nepal there are an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 children who work as bonded laborers making carpets. Shop owners say that they need the good eyesight and fine fingers of children to make carpets. However, adults, not children, produce the h ighest quality, more finely-knotted carpets. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/gallery/gallery11.html
Brick worker, Nepal (L) 1995 and India (R) 1993 Throughout much of the world, bricks are made by hand. Mud is dug from nearby fields. After it has been kneaded, it is shaped using a small mold. First, sand is sprinkled into the mold to prevent the mud from sticking. Next, the mud is scooped by hand and thrown into the mold. The extra mud is trimmed off the top to shape the brick. In some regions the mold is then turned upside down to release the brick; in others, the mold has no bottom. Finally, the brick is stamped with the name of the manufacturer. Bricks are left in the sun to dry. When they are dry, they are carried to the kiln for firing. In India and Nepal bricks are stacked in enormous kilns, covered with dirt, and then fired by dropping fuel down small stacks, scattered about the top of the kiln. After firing, workers remove the bricks from the kiln. If the bricks are dropped, they may fall several feet onto the bare foot of a worker. Workers then carry large loads of bricks across fields of stone and broken bricks for storage and shipping. Even a small brick factory may produce as many as 500,000 bricks per year. Each brick weighs between one and two kilograms (2.2-4.4 pounds). A small child may haul over 1,000 bricks on his/her head or back each day. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/gallery/gallery17.html
Stone quarry workers, India 1993 In many quarries the stones are broken by hand. Because of the large amounts of dust, the work is quite dangerous. Workers are at extreme risk of developing silicosis (scarring of the lungs) and a related disease, silico-tuberculosis. According to some medical studies, over 70 percent of workers who develop silicosis will also develop tuberculosis. This is a serious problem in regions of the world where tuberculosis is endemic. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/gallery/gallery20.html
Poverty and child labour are closely interlinked since poor families on the margin of survival have to weigh the cost of educating children against the value to the household of the work a child might do. The importance of the cost of education to poor families is clearly shown by the 2005 ILO survey on attitudes to child labour and education in Indonesia – the first of its kind in the region. While parents are highly committed to the idea of educating their children, they cited the costs of education as the main factor behind why their children were out of school. In addition, where the curriculum is not matched to the needs of the local labour market, and where school facilities are not renewed and repaire for years, poor families think twice before sending their children to school. ( Excerpted from the ILO Report on Labour and Social Trends in Asia and the Pacific, 2005 ) Causes of Child Labor (from http://facweb.eths.k12.il.us/frohmanp/chidlabor.htm) Poverty: Many poor families need to keep as many family members working as possible to ensure income security and survival of the family. This makes it very difficult for poor families to invest in their children’s education. In fact, educating a child can be a significant financial burden. In many instances, “free” public education is in fact very costly to a poor family, when they are expected to purchase books, school supplies, and uniforms, and sometimes even pay teachers’ wages. Many poor families weigh the cost of sending their children to school against the cost of the income lost by sending their children to work. Inadequate School Facilities : Many children live in areas that do not have adequate school facilities, so they work. For many poor families, inadequate school facilities do not merit the income lost by not sending their children to work. This situation is compounded by the fact that governments fail to provide adequate resources for education, health and employment services. Many countries do not have free compulsory education for all, which is an obstacle to sending working children to school. Family Size: Poor households tend to have more children, and with large families there is a greater likelihood that children will work and have lower school attendance and completion. Unscrupulous Employers : Unscrupulous employers hire children because they can pay them less money, and offer poor working conditions. They think that children are less likely to complain. In some cases, there may be a lack of decent jobs for adults.
While the proportion of girls among out-of-school children dropped sharply – from 71 per cent in 1990 to 49 per cent in 2000 – in the East Asia and South-East Asia and Pacific subregions, the proportion of out-of-school girls in South Asia is 60 per cent or higher.31 Girls’ work constitutes a major obstacle to achieving progress in girls’ education. Their work, for example, household chores, domestic services, and agricultural work is largely hidden. Often, when faced with limited resources, parents prefer to invest in the education of their sons and keep their daughter’s contribution to the household economy. ( Excerpted from the ILO Report on Labour and Social Trends in Asia and the Pacific, 2005 ) Photo source: http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/aencmed/targets/images/scp/T275690A.gif
Source: ILO 2005 Report
Child Labor in AsiaThe Asia-Pacificregion has thelargest number ofchild workers inthe 5-14 agegroup in the world– some 127million, about 60%of working childrenworldwide.~ ILO Report on Labour and SocialTrends in Asia and the Pacific, 2005
What is "CHILD LABOR"?There is no universallyaccepted definition of“child labor.”"Child labor" is, generallyspeaking, work forchildren that harms themor exploits them in someway (physically, mentally,morally, or by blockingaccess to education). Garbage Picker, India 1993
Is all work is bad for children?Some child workersthemselves think that illegalwork should not be consideredin the definition of "child labor."The reason: These childworkers would like to berespected for their legal work,because they feel they haveno other choice but to work. On the outskirts of Dhaka, children heat and mix rubber in a barrel at a balloon factory.
A boy works in a tea stall in a small village in Nepal. Nepal is one of the worlds poorest countries, forcing huge numbers of children to do hard labor. For a majority of children in Nepal, education is a luxury.A young Pakistani girl carries a load of wooldown a street in a poor section of Peshawar.Pakistan has laws that limit child labor, butthe laws are often ignored. An estimated 11million children work in Pakistans factories.
A young Burmese boy climbs on top of piles of teak wood in a government-run lumberyard in Pyin Ma Bin. The boys job is to label the teak wood. The wood is common in Myanmar and is in high demand in Japan and most of Asia.Sakina, 9, and Javed, 6, workon a carpet loom at a smallworkshop in Kabul.Afghanistans deep povertyforces many children to work inadult jobs.
This 9-year-old girl used to worklong hours weaving rugs in acarpet factory. Today, she isenrolled in a Rugmark school inIndia. Rugmark is an organizationworking to end child labor andprovide educational opportunitiesfor children. For child laborers allover the world, education is theticket to a better future.
Circus performers, India 1995Children work long hours, practicedangerous acts, and only the bestand those who manage to survivecontinue their lives as performers.A circus may have dozens of smallchildren; there are few teenagersand fewer adult performers.
Electroplate worker, India 1993: Theeducated use of protective equipmentby electroplaters is extremelyimportant in preventing contact withvarious metals and acids. Theminimum protective equipment shouldinclude gloves, aprons, boots, andchemical handlers goggles. Apronsshould come below the top of theboots.
Metal workers, India 1995: Children in factories such as this make polished metaltableware. They use high speed polishing machines and the noise in these factoriesis overwhelming. No doubt most of the workers suffer hearing loss from the loudnoise.
Carpet Weaver, Nepal1993: There are between60 and 115 million childlaborers in India; of these,at least 15 million work asbonded laborers. Bondedlabor refers to working in acondition of servitude inorder to pay a debt. Mostoften the debt is incurredby a childs parents orrelatives. The debt is paid-off by labor. Children soldinto debt bondage worklong hours for many yearsin order to pay the debt. In India and Nepal there are an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 children who work as bonded laborers making carpets. Shop owners say that they need the good eyesight and fine fingers of children to make carpets. However, adults, not children, produce the h ighest quality, more finely-knotted carpets.
Brick worker, India 1993Throughout much of the world, bricks are made by hand. Even a small brickfactory may produce as many as 500,000 bricks per year. Each brick weighsbetween one and two kilograms (2.2-4.4 pounds). A small child may haul over1,000 bricks on his/her head or back each day.
Stone quarry workers, India 1993In many quarries the stones are broken by hand.Because of the large amounts of dust, the work isquite dangerous. Workers are at extreme risk ofdeveloping silicosis (scarring of the lungs) and arelated disease, silico-tuberculosis.