Child labour is one of the biggest threats to the rights of children worldwide. It is an even more pressing issue in developing countries like Pakistan where an estimated 12 million children are victims of child labour. This article will analyse how Pakistan’s socioeconomic problems have led to the prevalence of child labour by highlighting the complex interplay between poverty, limited opportunities, poor infrastructure, and societal challenges. It will further examine these root causes, explore the consequences of child labour, and provide some potential solutions to this critical issue.
Causes of Child Labour
- Poverty as a Driver of Child Labour
Poverty is Pakistan’s primary driver of child labour. The result of a cross-sectional study conducted in Karachi, between April and June 2008, which correlated poverty and child labour, showed that poverty was the reason for the employment of around 83% of the country’s children. Poverty is on the rise as the World Bank predicted that by the end of 2023, 37.2% of people will live in poverty ($3.65/day). The figure is a little lower than the most recent estimate in 2018, which was 39.8%. Nevertheless, when population growth is accounted for, there are almost 3 million more poor people in the country compared to 2018. The lack of financial resources and limited access to social welfare programs forces families to prioritise immediate economic survival over their children’s education.
Many poverty-stricken families rely on their children for an extra source of income, often sending them to work as domestic workers. Currently, an estimated 264,000 children across Pakistan are employed as domestic workers. Cultural norms and traditional gender roles often restrict girls’ access to education, pushing them into household chores or early marriages. This restricts their education opportunities, which perpetuates the cycle of poverty for their family.
The case of Zohra Shah sparked much controversy. Zohra was an eight-year-old girl who was sent to work as a maid to provide income for her family. She was brutally assaulted by her employers, which eventually led to her passing. The girl’s mother, Samina Abbas said that the choice to send her to work was the “biggest regret” of her life. The girl’s father had lost his job, and his sons refused to work, leaving Zohra behind. The father wanted his children to study but could not afford to pay for their tuition, books and uniforms. The nearest school to their village was about 10 kilometres away, making it even more difficult to facilitate their education.
Pakistan’s high adult unemployment and underemployment rates are a factor in the country’s high child labour rates. In 2020-2021, Pakistan’s unemployment rate was 6.3%. However, this is lower than the unemployment rate of 6.9 % in 2018-2019. Unskilled workers, which make up the majority of the lower socio-economic strata, are forced to accept abusive working circumstances due to a lack of job prospects and low earnings. These include working overtime without compensation, the denial of wages, benefits and leaves, and unsanitary working conditions. In return, they are then forced to use their children as labourers to help support the family. This perpetuates the cycle of child labour, as children are relied upon as a source of income for several families.
- Inadequate Education Infrastructure
Pakistan’s inadequate education infrastructure often restricts access to compulsory education which is a significant cause of child labour. The link between education and reducing child labour is well-established and widely recognized by researchers, policymakers, and international organisations. By giving children the chance to learn new things and gain knowledge, education contributes to preventing child labour by giving kids the resources and skills they need to end the cycle of exploitation and poverty. According to the World Bank, the net enrollment rate for primary education in 2018 was reported at 65.3%, indicating that a majority of children between the ages of five and sixteen were not attending school.
Children find it challenging to pursue education in poverty-stricken communities since there are no nearby schools, classrooms, or easily-accessible basic educational supplies. For families who are struggling financially, the costs of resources associated with sending their children to school, such as uniforms, books, and transportation, prevent them from being able to enroll their children in these schools.
Throughout the years, various cases and petitions in Pakistan have highlighted the significance of the right to education. In Syed Nazeer Agha vs Government of Balochistan (PLD 2014 Balochistan 86), the Balochistan Government held to have neglected its responsibility to provide books to students in government schools in violation of the right to free and compulsory primary education under Article 25-A of the Constitution. The Quetta High Court recognised that simply constructing schools and offering free textbooks was insufficient to ensure children attended school; rather, an environment conducive to learning was also essential.
Another important case is the Human Rights Case 19360-P (2013 SCMR 54), where the Supreme Court’s intervention led to positive changes in the school, including improved staff salaries, increased funding for infrastructure development, and resolution of administrative problems. These actions demonstrate the court’s commitment to safeguarding the right to education as enshrined in Article 25-A of the Constitution and holding the authorities accountable for ensuring its implementation. These cases highlight the main issue with the educational infrastructure: only providing free education is insufficient to provide for the right enshrined under Article 25-A.
- Lack of resources and funds
Pakistan’s lack of funds and resources invested in the education sector also proves to be a hindrance in combating child labour. The problem with academic institutions is that appropriate funding is necessary for sufficient and high-quality education. However, Pakistan’s budget is highly volatile due to the country’s mounting international debts, which leaves a lesser portion of its budget for important sectors such as education. Pakistan’s public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP is estimated at 1.7% in the fiscal year 2022-23 against 1.4% for the last fiscal year, which is the lowest in the region. In 2016, Pakistan’s public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP saw an all-time high at 3% but since then it has been going down to the current 1.7%. As a result, schools are forced to raise funds through the parents of enrolled students, which inevitably makes the actual cost of education quite significant, and far from ‘free’.
- Weak Law Enforcement
Weak law enforcement contributes to the persistence of child labour in Pakistan. Despite legislation prohibiting child labour, weak implementation, corruption, and lack of awareness about existing laws allow employers to exploit children for cheap labour. This lack of enforcement perpetuates the cycle of child labour and inhibits children’s access to education. For example, the Employment of Children Act was passed in 1991 which made it illegal for children under 14 to work. Still, the percentage of children aged ten to fourteen employed in the labour force is 8.2%, which is approximately 2.05 million children. Child labour is also prohibited indirectly by legislation providing for free and compulsory primary education; these statutes exist at the provincial level, with a federal statute applying to the Islamabad Capital Territory. However, the limited finance dispersed to all the provinces from the allocated federal budget means that schools are significantly underfunded and unable to prevent children from being employed.
The Ministry of Human Rights in Pakistan has been actively involved in addressing the issue of child labour in the country. The Ministry plays a crucial role in formulating policies, implementing programs, and coordinating efforts to combat child labour and protect the rights of children. The Ministry is responsible for a lot of tasks regarding safeguarding human rights, a few vital tasks are policy formulation and enforcement.
Despite existing laws and regulations, enforcement mechanisms are often weak, and child labour persists due to various socio-economic factors, including poverty and limited access to education. Challenges persist in implementation and enforcement, and further efforts are needed to curb child labour effectively.
Solutions
- Strengthening Legislation and Enforcing Laws
The creation and execution of effective legal and policy frameworks is an important step in the fight against child labour. Although Pakistan has passed specific laws and policies regarding child labour, the lack of implementation is the main cause for its continued prevalence.
There has been an increase of different provincial legislation passed by the four provincial assemblies in the nation. Several laws have been passed in an effort to stop the occurrence of child labour. For example, in Punjab, the Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act 2004 imposes a positive duty on the provincial government to establish child protection instiutitons for ‘destitute and neglected children’, and to ensure their welfare if their parents or guardians are unable to do so, or if they are orphaned children. This classification covers several children at risk of abuse, including those subject to child labour.
According to section 14 of the Employment of Children Act, anyone who employs a child or enables a child to work in the mentioned jobs and processes in the Act is subject to a term of imprisonment that can last up to a year, and a fine that can be up to PKR 20,000. But this is not enforced like it should be, which eventually does not accomplish their goal of combatting child labour. This is because there is no clear vision or strategy for the implementation of the Act, as statutes alone have little impact without other policy and institutional mechanisms in place.
Pakistan should follow the footsteps of other countries such as Egypt, which has implemented a National Action Plan to end child labour by 2025. Pakistan should adopt a similar approach. Egypt also held an awareness-raising event for more than 40 families from various migrant populations in Cairo, including 87 children. This was organised by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Egypt to commemorate the World Day Against Child Labour, and sought to increase awareness of children’s rights while exploring ways to prevent exploitation, ensure environmental sustainability, and promote the value of mental health and wellbeing for parents as well as children. Such strategies could be implemented in Pakistan to raise awareness about the harmful effects of child labour, as well as develop an effective strategy (beyond legislative drafting) to combat its prevalence.
- Ensuring Accessible and High-Quality Education
By ensuring accessible and high-quality education, Pakistan can significantly reduce the number of children entrapped in child labour by ensuring they complete their primary education. This will require a major readjustment of the portion of the state budget allocated to education. The provision of free and required education for all children, including those from marginalised groups, should be a top priority for Pakistan. This necessitates spending on curriculum development, teacher training, and educational infrastructure. With the currently low priority that is afforded to public sector education, Pakistan must reconsider and reprioritise its budgetary expenditure if it is serious about curbing child labour.
- Role of NGOs and International Organisations
Because of the state’s lack of prioritisation of education, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and international organisations have had to step in. Their assistance and support must continue to be utilised through engagement by the state. For example, the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) is Pakistan’s leading organisation defending children rights at a local level, which includes combating child labour. SPARC works alongside International Labour Organisation (ILO) to provide children protection services across Pakistan.
The ILO promotes social justice and internationally recognised human and labour rights. Since its creation, Pakistan has been an important and active member of ILO, and has ratified 36 ILO conventions, which include eight fundamental conventions. Two of these fundamental conventions are the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (No. 182) and the Minimum Age Convention (No. 138), which are crucial resources for states to create efficient legal frameworks. Regarding the Minimum Age Convention, in its 2018 report, the ILO Committee of Experts expressed satisfaction regarding certain legislative changes in Pakistan. The government had indicated that it proposed draft laws in the Islamabad Capital Territory, Balochistan, and Sindh provinces, aimed at setting a minimum working age of at least 14 years and identifying hazardous working activities. The Committee urged the government to take the necessary steps to ensure the adoption of these draft laws in all remaining provinces of Pakistan.
Additionally, the Committee urged the government to ensure the effective implementation of these laws and to take appropriate measures to eradicate child labour throughout the country. If law enforcement agencies work efficiently, then this issue of child labour can easily be combated. NGOs are working towards educating children and are working against child labour. Thus, compliance with the ILO’s recommendations as well as continued commitment to the ILO’s central causes can allow Pakistan to develop a robust legal and policy framework to combat child labour. Engaging assistance from NGOs and international organisations can serve to significantly improve Pakistan’s capacity in minimising its prevalence.
- Social Welfare Programs
To prevent parents from resorting to making their children work, the government can offer income support programs for poverty-stricken families. An example of this is through the introduction of social protection programmes. Pakistan should invest in and create adult skill development programmes, employment creation, and income support. Providing people with unemployment benefits, vocational training and other similar facilities would provide a means to families to eventually lift themselves out of poverty by easing financial strains on families and lessen their reliance on child employment. This will also require significant budgetary reallocation and a development of a social protection strategy.
- Capacity-Building
Mechanisms for enforcement and monitoring must be strengthened in Pakistan to eliminate child labour successfully. To identify and remedy child labour breaches, the government should invest in the training and capacity-building of labour inspectors. The efficiency of monitoring activities can be increased by cooperation between law enforcement authorities, civil society organisations, and communities. Campaigns for public awareness can be quite effective in informing the public about the negative effects of child work and encouraging social responsibility.
Pakistan can implement laws, train labour inspectors, and follow up with monitoring and enforcing mechanisms, among other initiatives. Pakistan, like other developing countries such as Nigeria, Fiji, Mali and Sri Lanka can take an Action Pledge like they did in 2021. All of these countries’ action pledges aimed towards increasing and strengthening the legal framework regarding child labour. In Sri Lanka, the government also increased working age to 16 and in Mali, the government planned to recruit new labour inspectors, provide technical support to NGOs, and end the worst forms of child labour in the country. This is followed up by a publication of an annual report on the efforts made throughout the year.
Conclusion
Child labour has been and continues to be a monumental issue that Pakistan struggles to surmount. Addressing this issue requires comprehensive solutions such as strengthening the legislation, enforcing laws, ensuring high-quality education, better monitoring, engaging NGOs and international organisations and incorporating best practices from other countries. It also requires a proper understanding of the underlying socio-economic problems that the country is facing that inevitably lead to child labour. By developing and implementing the aforementioned solutions, Pakistan can work towards eradicating child labour. Nevertheless, one must acknowledge the difficulty of implementing these solutions in the short-term future. Thus, Pakistan must work to develop a long-term strategy to curb child labour, as it involves a variety of decisions to be made at different levels of the state bureaucracy.
Centre for Human Rights (CHR) blog
