Child Labour
Child labor defined as the working of children at different factories, industries and in agricultural field above the age of 5 -14. There are several reasons behind this such as limited free education, resources, poverty and unemployment, parental decisions, child living alone, population and weak economy.
The main cause of child labor is access to free education, which is limited. Firstly, education which is the basic need to survive in this era is so narrow. Children belonging to poor families face barriers to access education such as not having a school to go there and the teachers which the government hires for them are not qualified. According to UN research in 2006 around 75 million children were away from schools due to limited schools and poverty. Moreover, forcefully the families send their child to work.
Secondly, poverty and unemployment is another hurdle for the child to work at a young age. There are many countries lying under the poverty line like South Africa, Syria, Zimbabwe and many more where families are affected by poverty and cannot get a one time meal. According to these families the only solution to get rid of it is to get their child below the age of 14 a job to feed their bellies. On the other hand, unemployment levels are high. Industries hire children to save their incomes because an adult demands high payment as compared to children. Therefore, the rate of employment for adults have decreased and child labor has increased. However,” kids at work” written by Russels Freedom got succeed to convince the American people that Congress must pass child labor laws due to which child labor decrease till first world war. But, again increased after the first world war.
Thirdly, the parental decision is also included as the cause of child labor. Some parents are afraid of their kid’s future and in order to save them from drug addiction. They unwantedly bring their children at work; meanwhile, some children go to work to learn different arts and skills such as mechanical skills, electrical skills and many others.
Lastly, overpopulation and a weak economy has influenced many families. The increased population in some countries whose economy is weak causes children to work for the betterment of their lifestyle.
In conclusion, free education resources, poverty and unemployment, parental decisions, child living alone and population and weak economy has increased the rate of child labor.