Child labour refers to the employment of children in any work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and which is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organisations. Legislations across the world prohibit child labour. These laws do not consider all work by children as child labour; exceptions include work by child artists, family duties and supervised training. The vast majority of child labour is found in rural settings and informal urban economy; children are predominantly employed by their parents, rather than factories.
Poverty is the greatest single cause behind child labour. For impoverished households, income from a child’s work is usually crucial for his or her own survival or for that of the household. The authorities have to tackle growing poverty, if they are serious about eradicating child labour from Pakistan’s soil.
Moeen Akhtar Muhammadi
Sukkur