Ban on all forms of child labour demanded

LAHORE:Rights organisations have sounded the alarm over the rampant and unchecked abuse of child labour in Punjab, calling for immediate and concrete action from the government to eradicate the practice across all sectors.

The call came during a joint press conference held at the Lahore Press Club by WISE (Women in Struggle for Empowerment), Child Rights Movement (CRM), and Women Domestic Workers Union – Punjab.

Iftikhar Mubarak, Director of Search for Justice and Coordinator of Child Rights Movement, cited the Punjab Child Labour Survey 2019–20, revealing that over six million children aged 5–17 are engaged in child labour in Punjab alone. He said 3.3 million children work in agriculture, over 800,000 in manufacturing, and Sahiwal Division alone houses more than 750,000 child labourers, while Rawalpindi reports under 250,000. Boys account for 4.1 million of those working, while 1.9 million are girls. Mubarak criticised policy inaction and demanded integrated, cross-sector efforts to end this crisis. Syeda Ghulam Fatima, General Secretary of the Bonded Labour Liberation Front Pakistan (BLLF), exposed the prevalence of bonded child labour at brick kilns, with children trapped in modern-day slavery due to family debts. She denounced the authorities’ failure to enforce the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, which legally bans this practice.

Bushra Khaliq, Executive Director of WISE, reported that from January 1, 2019 to May 31, 2025, 190 cases of violence against child domestic workers were documented in Punjab through media monitoring. Of these, 43 girls were killed, and 147 suffered brutal physical or sexual abuse. Victims were mostly between the ages of 4 and 15, with Lahore, Faisalabad, and Kasur emerging as the most affected districts. She condemned the lack of enforcement of Article 3 of the Punjab Domestic Workers Act 2019, which prohibits employment of children under 15 in households.

According to official data from the Punjab Bureau of Statistics and the Punjab Labour Department, there are approximately 912,000 domestic workers in the province, many of whom are children working in abusive, slavery-like conditions.

Meanwhile, stakeholders from government, workers’ and employers’ organisations, and civil society came together to reaffirm their commitment to eliminating child labour in Pakistan. The event was organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Pakistan in collaboration with the Labour Research and Development Institute (LRDI) and the Pakistan United Workers Federation (PUWF).

Held under the global theme “Progress is evident, but there's more to do: let’s speed up efforts,” the event brought together representatives from government, workers' and employers' organisations, civil society, and communities engaged in cotton production. It was organised under the ILO’s project Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work in the Cotton Supply Chain – RISE for Impact, which works to eliminate child labour and promote social justice in Pakistan’s cotton sector. Geir Thomas Tonstol, Director, ILO Country Office for Pakistan, said “Child labour remains one of the gravest violations of fundamental rights.