Emran Emon

“The father of the child sleeps within every child’s soul.” This poetic expression reflects a timeless truth: today’s children are the future of tomorrow. Children are the artisans of building the country and nation of future. Children constitute 45 percent of the total population of Bangladesh. But due to getting involved in labour force, many children's childhood and bright future are lost in the abyss of darkness.

Child labour is a serious problem in South Asian countries. At an age when children should be holding books and enjoying a carefree childhood in school, they are instead forced to endure inhumane labour in brick kilns or factories. 

Although child labor is prohibited in all forms, the tragic picture of child labour can be seen in hotels, motels, launches, buses, brick kilns, stone quarries, garages, aluminum factories, mills, homes, sweet and biscuit factories, tobacco industry, leather industry, tea industry and heavy industry etc. Cruel images of child labour are seen in all the big cities.

The children of the families afflicted by the cruelty of poverty, are helpless and forced to engage in child labour. In the context of Bangladesh, the first and foremost cause of child labour is ‘economic hardship’. There have been various studies on child age and childlabour.

In 1974, the Children's Act defined the age of a child as 16 years. In 1989, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child stated that 18 years would be the maximum period for a child. The National Child Policy formulated in 1994 made the age of children as 14 years. On June 1, 2003, the child's age was set at 16 years. In 2006, under Section 2 (63) of the Bangladesh Labour Act, 'child' means a person who has not reached the age of 14 years. Section 2-1 of the National Children's Policy in 2011 refers to a person under the age of 18.

The International Labour Organization and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child say in the context of child labour: “When a labour or work environment becomes dangerous and detrimental to the physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development of a child, it shall be deemed to be childlabor.” UNICEF defines child labour as ‘the kind of work that interferes with a child's health and education’. The International Labour Organization (ILO) has been observing ‘World Day Against Child Labour’ since June 12, 2002, to protect the rights of children and eliminate risky child labour. This day is celebrated in 80 countries of the world including Bangladesh every year.

According to the ILO survey, the number of child laborers in the world is about 36 crore 60 lakh. One out of every six children is engaged in child labour. About 22,000 children die every year due to trafficking, terrorism and torture. According to the Department of Labour, there are 69 lakh child laborers in the country. According to a report released by UNICEF, there are currently more than 6 crore children in the country. Although 90 percent go to primary school, more than half drop out before completing school. According to a World Food Organisation (WHO) survey, 57 percent of childrenwork for food. Although 23.7 percent of children are paid wages, the amount is negligible compared to the child law.

Article 17 of the Constitution of Bangladesh provides clear guidelines on compulsory unpaid education for children, Article 18 on nutrition and health protection, Article 28 on enactment of special welfare and development laws, and Article 34 on forcible prohibition of child labor. There are numerous policies at the national and international levels to stop child labour.

According to the National Child Policy, formulated in 2011, risky work cannot be done by any child of 5-18 years. The Children's Act 2013 states that any person who injures, abuses or neglects a child shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years. A survey conducted by the International Labour Organization and UNICEF found that child labour is currently employed in about 310 types of economic activities in urban Bangladesh.

Around us, we witness the inhumane abuse of child labourers on a regular basis. A child domestic worker may face brutal punishment from their employer for something as simple as breaking a plate. A young hotel waiter is beaten for accidentally shattering a glass. Child labourers are often tied up and subjected to horrific torture for making minor mistakes on the job. The media frequently exposes how children engaged in such hazardous occupations endure relentless cruelty and abuse.

The gravity of child labour in Bangladesh is increasing day by day. According to a report by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 6,070 children are born every 24 hours in the country. Yet, there is no designated state or social budget allocated for these newborns. A recent study revealed that each child in Bangladesh is born with a budget deficit of 60,000 taka. 

According to statistics from Local Education and Economic Development, there are currently around 2 to 2.5 million children in Bangladesh who are considered street children. Driven by poverty, many of these children have fled broken families and ended up on the streets. They spend their nights at bus stations, railway stations, footpaths, parks, roadsides, or in open spaces. These children live on the streets and survive through street-based livelihoods. All of them are between the ages of 5 and 18. Many eventually get involved in various forms of crime and delinquency, while some become addicted to drugs. Others fall prey to human trafficking and are smuggled abroad. Some even have their organs harvested. Criminal syndicates often exploit these vulnerable children for illegal activities. Many girl children are subjected to abuse and forced into sexual exploitation.

According to data from Social and Economic Enhancement, 45% of street children in Bangladesh are addicted to drugs, while 41% have no place to sleep at night. Around 40% lack access to bathing facilities, and 45% do not have access to toilets. Nearly 55% of these children fall ill without receiving any care, and 75% are unable to seek medical attention when sick. Furthermore, 51% of street children are subjected to verbal abuse, while 46% of girls face sexual abuse. About 19% are addicted to heroin, 40% are smokers, 28% are addicted to tablets, and 8% use injectable drugs. 

What we need to do to end child labour:

1) Child labour is called the harvest of poverty. Poverty is at the root of child labour, in order to stop child labour, poverty must first be eradicated.

2) To stop inhuman child labour, we have to change our mental attitude, we have to think of other people's children as our own children.

3) The problems of children below 14 years of age should be identified and solved at each district level.

4) Village and town based rehabilitation projects should be taken to stop childlabor. Make a list of children who are being employed due to scarcity and pay child allowance.

5) The government has to implement the existing laws to eliminate child labour and adopt short, medium and long term plans. It is possible to eliminate child labour with the joint initiative of all.

6) In order to eliminate child labour, it is necessary to find out where child labour is taking place and to spread more and more information about it in the media.

7) It is seen that there are many owners who have to pay more, so they do not employ adults. Because of working with children, these owners need to be punished.

8) Child labour should be given priority in the national social security strategy.

9) Every working child must ensure education.

10) Public awareness about child labour and children's rights should be created. Social and political commitments must be implemented to eradicate child labour.

Children are the cornerstone of a nation’s future. Today’s children are the architects of tomorrow’s society. They are destined to shoulder the great responsibility of leading the nation in the days to come. Therefore, it is imperative to raise them as capable, responsible, and enlightened citizens. In developed countries, various care systems are in place to ensure the physical, mental, and intellectual development of children. Unfortunately, in our country, due to widespread poverty and lack of education, children are often deprived of their fundamental rights. Driven by necessity, many are forced into labor from a very early stage of life, sacrificing their childhood for survival. 

The number of child laborers in Bangladesh’s workforce is steadily increasing. The shock of the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly exacerbated the situation. According to a joint report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNICEF, the COVID-19 crisis has created a heightened risk of pushing millions more children into child labor—a reversal that could undo two decades of progress. UNICEF’s latest report states that 168 million children worldwide are currently engaged in child labour. In Bangladesh alone, 4.7 million children are involved in various forms of child labour. 

Child labour remains a major obstacle to achieving the government’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, there is a glimmer of hope. According to a recent press release by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, under the fourth phase of the Hazardous Child Labor Elimination Project, children engaged in hazardous work will be withdrawn and provided with six months of non-formal education and four months of vocational training. Each child will receive a monthly stipend of 1,000 BDT, disbursed through the mobile banking platform bKash. A total of 100,000 children are targeted for withdrawal from hazardous labor under this initiative. Beyond these 100,000 children, the government aims to eliminate all forms of child labor by 2030 in line with the SDG targets. This initiative marks a significant step toward building a child labor-free, prosperous, and developed Bangladesh by 2041. 

If the number of child laborers continues to rise at this pace, the entire nation risks sinking into darkness. Today’s children are the future of the country—the very lifeblood of the nation. If we fail to transform this vast population into a productive human resource, our overall development will inevitably falter. The future of the nation rests on the shoulders of today’s young generation.

We must free children from the burden of labor and return to them the joys of a vibrant childhood—one illuminated by the light of education. Ending child labor requires practical and effective social and political commitments, as well as widespread public awareness. Above all, we must all raise our voices—collectively and unwaveringly—to eliminate child labour and safeguard the rights of every child. 

The writer is a journalist, columnist and global affairs analyst. He can be reached at emoncolumnist@gmail.com