Observer Report
Islamabad
On the World Day against Child Labour, in memory of Zohra Shah and all other children who have been victims of abuse and exploita-tion, we must reaffirm our collective commitment to protect our children and ensure that each child is given the opportunity to real-ize their potential, said Federal Minister of Human Rights Shireen Mazari in a statement issued on Thursday. Every year, the international community commemorates the World Day against Child Labour on July 12.
This year, as the world con-fronts an unprecedented pandemic, children face an increased risk of child labour, child marriages and other forms of exploitation. The Covid-19 public health emergency has disrupted the right to educa-tion for children across the world. In Pakistan, where there are al-ready an estimated 22.8 million children out-of-school, this is likely to adversely affect learning outcomes & exacerbate existing ine-qualities in educational attainment such as high female dropout rates. Projections estimate an alarming 5 fold increase in drop-out rates due to the crisis.
Child labour causes children physical, psychological, moral and so-cial harm. There are an estimated 152 million children in child la-bour around the world, 72 million of which are in hazardous work. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), there are an estimated 8.5 million child workers in Pakistan. Child labour is most rampant in agriculture (76 %) followed by the service (14.6 %) and manufacturing (6.7 %) industries, where children work long hours and are often exposed to hazardous substances and poor liv-ing conditions.
In a recent tragic incident in Rawalpindi, eight-year-old Zohra Shah was allegedly ruthlessly killed by her employer for accidently releas-ing some expensive parrots from their cage. Child domestic workers are often the victims of torture, rape, murder, and other forms of abuse. Zohra’s case has prompted the Ministry of Human Rights to propose a significant amendment to classify child domestic labour as a ‘hazardous occupation’ under Schedule 1 of the Employment of Children Act 1991, in an effort to strengthen legislation pertaining to the issue.
‘MoHR works on reviewing and strengthening laws and institutional mechanisms to protect child rights in Pakistan. Laws at the federal and provincial level set bans on hazardous work for children and minimum age limits for labour. Moreover, Pakistan has ratified the UN Convention on Rights of the Child (UNCRC); its Optional Proto-cols; and ILO Conventions related to Child Labour,’ said Minister Shireen Mazari in her press statement. She also urged the general public to report cases on Child Labour on the Ministry’s helpline 1099.
On this occasion, Federal Secretary for Human Rights Rabiya Javeri Agha said that the Ministry of Human Rights recognizes the gravity of the issue of Child Labour in Pakistan.
