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Kathmandu Thursday May 03, 2001 Baishakh 20, 2058.
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Eradicate
child labour
Child labour is almost synonymous with
poverty. The factors responsible for the high incidence of child labour in Nepal as in
many other countries of the third world are poverty, illiteracy, inadequate schools and
the attitudes of parents themselves. The child labour issue has come to the fore because
of the work of various international organisations and NGOs concerned. The media has also
played its part. Coverage of the issue by the German media a few years ago shook the
carpet industry in this country. The government has introduced direct measures to prevent
child labour but it has never implemented them effectively. As a result, children,
especially from the low caste and poor families, continue to work in transport, servicing
and repair, cultivation and manufacturing and at plantations and processing plants. Had
successive governments taken stock of the situation and chipped away at the problem with
determination, the situation in this country would have been better than what it is today.
Even the poor would not be stressing that their children should work in order to develop
useful skills instead of taking advantage of formal education which is often not
available. It is a fact that child labour is a source of income for poor families which
have precious little by way of economic resources. For the poor, there are few sources of
bank credit, government loans or other credit resources and even if these are available,
only a few poor families qualify. Families need money to survive and children can bring
additional income.
Child labour is also synonymous with
exploitation. Child Workers In Nepal Centre (CWIN) estimates that there are over 77,000
child labourers in the country. Of the total, 10 percent are below ten years old and 70
percent are between 11 to 14 years. One-third of them do not get paid while 20 percent
work more than 12 hours and that too in hazardous conditions. Besides, 50 percent of the
child labourers have been the victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence. These are no
doubt alarming facts that cannot be ignored. It is difficult to cite currently how many
children have been engaged in child labour. This difficulty is attributed to the fact that
the government has neither collected relevant data nor has it analysed adequately the
reasons behind the incidence of child labour. While poverty has been cited as the main
reason for child labour, lack of schools, social security and ineffective laws have also
contributed to the high incidence of child labour in the country. The caste system is
another factor that has forced children from the lower castes to work at an early age
compared to those of the upper castes. All the relevant policies that the government has
put in place are in accordance with the constitution, and support the eradication of child
labour. Yet, the problem remains as grave as ever. Enforcement of the law is the weak link
in the chain. The growing ranks of child labourers also attest to this.
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