Even though we live in a modern world, we still live in a time when there are millions of children who are oppressed, especially through child labour. Child labour is defined by the International Labour Organization as “work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. This paper will discuss two forms of child labour, and the effects that it has on children and society.
One form of child labour is physical labour. Children are forced to work for long hours, for little pay. For instance, in Morocco, children begin working at a very young age, including 38 percent of girls between ages 8 and 12. These girls’ families frequently are approached by intermediaries as recruiters, promising good working conditions and kind employers. The girls said in the survey that they were expected to do the work of the household, which included cooking, cleaning and taking care of younger children for families as large as eight people. Although Morocco’s Labor Code restricts a limit of 44 hours per week for most workers, there aren’t any restrictions on hours for domestic workers, meaning girls can work as much as 18 hours in a day without breaks, or a day off, and they do it for a salary that Human Rights Watch said is 545 dirhams per month (approximately $61, far below the minimum monthly wage of 2,333 dirhams (approximately $261) for the industrial sector. The girls also were subjected to poor living conditions, including sleeping on the floor with just a blanket, little food, physical abuse, which could consist of beatings with objects such as wooden sticks, and sexual abuse.
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Another form of child labour is as child soldiers. One country that is plagued by this is Columbia. According to a report by Watchlist on Children in Armed Conflict, there is an estimated 5,000 to 14,000 child soldiers in the country with the average age of children being absorbed into these groups being 11.8 years in 2009, a drop from 13.8 years in 2002.
These children are offered food and education by gangs, and often recruit their peers, and, according to the International Crisis Group, 85 percent join “voluntarily. The children are often supplied with drugs, and are used as lookouts, informants and even assassins. Gangs use children because they are seen as easy to manipulate, which they frequently do with drugs, and because their youth allows them not to be seen as suspicious by the police authorities. Once in a gang, it is hard for them to leave. Watchlist told the story of a boy named Diego, who was recruited by a Columbian gang with the promise of free food in exchange for acting as a lookout. When he wanted to leave, the gang refused to let him see his family, stopped feeding him, and made him a hitman under the threat that if he did not kill, he would be killed himself.
The labour also has an effect on the childrens’ education. In Morocco, one child said her employer refused to let her attend school, and a 2010 report by the Institution Nationale de Solidarité avec les Femmes en Détresse said “21 percent of child domestic workers were still in school and worked during school holidays, but that 49 percent had dropped out of
school to work and 30 percent had never attended at all.” However, the situation in the country has improved, according to government surveys. The number of children in the country engaged in labour has dropped from 517,000 in 1999 to 123,000 in 2011, and the number of children in completing primary school increased from 62 percent in 2002 to 85 percent in 2010.
There is also the effect on poverty and society when it comes to child labour. In Kenya, child labour is seen as necessary for survival in rural areas, as the population estimated to be living in poverty was 55.4 percent in 2001, while urban areas were seen as more prosperous. The majority of the population, 68 percent, live in rural areas, and child labour is perpetuated across generations, as parents who worked as children have a higher probability of sending their children to work. In Kenya, although about 70 percent reported attending school, with 67-79 percent reportedly helping out with the household chores, and 42 percent of the boys on family farms worked. About 45 percent of rural children combine work and school in Kenya, as opposed to 7 percent of urban children. The children said they worked for three primary reasons: Parents’ suggestion, for income, and for domestic chores. However, in Kenya, it appears that education is also growing in emphasis for children, as they have been paying their own school fees from the money that they’ve earned, and a free primary education has increased enrollment from 5.9 million in 2002 to 8.2 million in 2007.
Two primary subjects are frequently seen in child labour: Poverty and education. Frequently, child labour is the result of desperation. Families, as shown in Morocco, are willing to send their children away so they can work, while children in Columbia may join gangs in order to be fed. In Kenya, the children are frequently working to help their families survive on their farms. Children are also seen as economic factors. A child that can work can earn their keep, and not be a financial burden on a family. Education, and the lack of one, is also a contributing factor. Uneducated children have a difficult time in getting ahead, and, the lack of education can be used to keep children submissive. A child who understands their rights can challenge the system, which is not desired by those who are benefitting from it. We, as a global society, need to help our fellow human beings prosper in order to protect our most vulnerable from harm. Children should be able to go to school and not live in situations where they can be exploited. They deserve to be protected and to grow up and live a happy life. Unfortunately, even though our world is becoming more modern, we still cling to many old traditions and norms. Hopefully in the future, child labour will become a thing of the past.
