Child labour in Pakistan

Child labor in Pakistan is the employment of children for work in Pakistan, which causes mental, physical, moral and social harm to children. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimated in the 1990s, 11 million children were working in the country, half of which were under the age of ten. In 1996, the median age for a child entering the work force was seven, down from eight years old in 1994. It was estimated that one quarter of the country’s work force was made up of children. In a city of Pakistan, Hyderabad children enter work force at the age of 4 or 5 years old making bangles and bracelets. They make around 12 sets (per set containing 65 bangles) and only receive Rs.40 which takes around 2 to 3 days. This is not just a situation of Hyderabad but all other Katchi Abadis of Pakistan.

As of 2012, it is estimated that 96 percent of working boys in urban areas were employed in the wholesale and retail industry. The following 22 percent in the service industry and 22 percent in manufacturing. As for the girls, 48 percent were employed in the service industry, while 52 percent were employed in manufacturing. In rural areas, 68 percent of working boys were joined by 82 percent of working girls. In the wholesale and retail industry the percentage of girl were 11 percent followed by 11 percent in manufacturing. Child labour in Pakistan is perhaps most rampant in the city of Multan, which is an important production centre for export goods.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) suggests that poverty is the greatest single cause behind child labour. Pakistan has a per-capita income of approximately $1900. A middle class person in Pakistan earns around $6 a day on average. The average Pakistani has to feed nine or ten people with their daily wage. Further to that there is also the high inflation rate to contend with. As of 2008, 17.2% of the total population lives below the poverty line, which is the lowest figure in the history of Pakistan. Poverty levels in Pakistan appear to necessitate that children work in order to allow families to reach their target take‐home pay. For companies, the low cost of child labour gives manufacturers a significant advantage in the Western marketplace, where they undersell their competitors from countries which prohibiting child labour. According to research conducted by Akhtar, Fatima, & Sadaqt, a main cause of child labour in the fishing sector on the Balochistan coast was the low quality of education, lack of job prospects, and lack of progress in the region. It was found that in this particular province that there are high drop out rates and low literacy rates.The researchers believe that if policies focus on bettering education that it will help aid the effort of reducing the amount of child labour.

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