perpective-child labour - Page 2

perspective-child domestic labour

Permitted age for employment of children as domestic workers

Do you know what the minimum age is for children in the different provinces of Pakistan to be employed as domestic workers? Child labour is a provincial subject in Pakistan after the 18th Constitutional Amendment in 2010. The 18th Constitutional Amendment devolved the issue of labour and employment to the provinces and each province is now responsible for enacting and…

Ghost Schools

KARACHI: Apropos the letter “Ghost Teachers” published on September 19, 2024, the issue of ghost schools is another sad reality in Pakistan’s education system. These schools exist only in name, with buildings left abandoned and teachers still collecting salaries without fulfilling their responsibilities. However, the problem goes beyond just missing…

Little Ones at Work

It is deeply unfortunate that millions of Pakistani children endure poverty and…

A solution for millions of out-of-school children?

According to a UNICEF report, around 22.8 million children between the ages of…

Stolen Childhoods

Acknowledging a problem is the first step toward resolving it, and Sindh’s recognition of the alarming prevalence of child marriages and child labour is a necessary but overdue move. Figures recently revealed in the Sindh School Education and Literacy Department survey are just one of many studies conducted over the…

Child Abuse At Work

Child workers in Pakistan face abuse, exploitation, and neglect. Stricter laws and actions are essential The suffering of child workers, especially in domestic households, is a harsh reminder of society’s failure to protect its most vulnerable members. In Pakistan, many children face severe physical and mental abuse, with their pain…

Protecting Our Children

Violence against children remains a widely prevalent scourge in Pakistan, despite the best efforts of activists and NGOs and several government interventions. While the country has a reasonable legal framework to safeguard children’s rights, local ‘culture’ and ‘traditions’ mean it is not uncommon to see well-kept child workers in the…

Child Beggary

CHILD begging, the ugliest form of child labour, is a curse on society. Ravaged by disease, crime, exploitation and drug abuse, hundreds of poor children populate Karachi’s intersections and street corners. The Sindh Child Protection Authority informed the Sindh Assembly recently that it was, in coordination with the provincial police,…

Upcoming Film Spotlights Plight Of Kids In Brick Kilns

‘Under the Blaze’ presents a compelling tale of a child forced to trade his future for perilous conditions Rawalpindi. A child extends his skinny arms to place a warm, rust-coloured brick in a long line of freshly baked blocks laid out to dry under the blistering sun that glares upon…

Labour Codes For All Working People

THE provinces of Sindh and Punjab have, with the assistance of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), prepared draft labour codes. These new codes refashion the current fragmented labour laws. The codes are designed to comply with international labour standards by extending protection to all people who work for the first time in Pakistan’s history.…

The helpless help

Pakistan has many legislations for the protection of women and safeguarding women’s rights but the burning question is the implementation of those laws and delayed justice. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) approximately 1,000 women are killed in honour killings annually. These figures differ and do not…

Laws and domestic workers

ON assuming power after his landslide victory in West Pakistan in the 1970 elections, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto introduced five labour welfare laws and brought in amendments in other laws applicable to industrial and commercial establishments. These laws pertained to the education of workers’ children, the constitution of a workers’ welfare…

Death Mines

Not just the first such incident, and will not be the last unless stringent labour protection measures are put to practice. Another coalmine incident, in Harnai district of Balochistan, claimed the lives of a dozen workers on 20 March 2024. Hundreds of miners die from mining accidents in Pakistan every…