Children working in hazardous conditions

We are appalled by the inhumane condition in which children are being forced to work in different sweatshops across the capital. Boys and girls as young as 10 have to work with grownups and are robbed off their month's earnings by the middlemen, as reported in this paper yesterday. Even more egregious perhaps is the bonded labour like environment in  which they work for unacceptably long hours in conditions hazardous to their wellbeing. Most of the factories where children work do not have proper safety measures making its child workers vulnerable in case of any mishap. Also, many of them face torture and abuse.

No matter how tall the claims made are about reduction of poverty in the country, child labour is a harsh reality. It is sheer poverty that forces over two million children to fend for themselves at such a tender age. As a result, children are compelled to work under exploitative conditions. There is no denying that extra policing of these establishments is urgently needed, and the existing law against child labour should be strictly enforced.

Having said that, it is important to eliminate its causative factors. We believe that the structural causes of child labour are multifaceted, and it is necessary to remove them to bring every Bangladeshi child to the schoolroom. Poor students can be given stipends and free meals as a measure to persuade parents to send their children to school. The Junior Secondary curricula should incorporate vocational studies. Also, we suggest the formation of a designated child labour body to monitor child rights abuses in these factories.