Center Number: PK204

Candidate Name: Muhammad Abdul Hadi

Candidate Number: 0020

Topic: #5 Family

Word Count: 1893

Research Question: Is Child Labour justified?

INTRODUCTION

Child Labour means any form of work done by children under the age of 15 that comes at the cost of their respect,future and also affects their physical and mental health but not all work done by them can be classified as child labour(4).For verification,we would have to look into its rich history.It is not a new problem but dates back centuries.Children were used form various types of work especially in impoverished regions.Back then,students? No,Back then,children under the age of 14 were viewed as working members of a family doing up to 12 hour shifts in agricultural and industrial sectors,earning a hard living for themselves and their family.But in modern times,things have changed.With the increase in education,many children have understood the need of aligning work with education which differentiates child labour from exploitation.However,child labour is still a prominent issue in many developing countries(2).

The countries which experience the most child labour are those which have huge populations and are either under-developed or developing like Ethiopia,Brazil and Pakistan (8).So it is no doubt that the problem of poverty is out of control in these areas.Poverty is one of the major factors forcing children.to work.Earning of these

This report will comprise of arguments, both in favour of child labour and against it followed by the comparison between them. Then the probable course of action will be given along with my perspective at the end.

SUPPORTING SIDE

Beginning with arguments supporting child labour,the three most common ones are; poverty driving children to work for survival,putting a ban on child labour causes unwanted problems like increase in crime and death rate,working from an early age develops character and skills.

children are pivotal for them and their families.Societal beliefs also play an important part.One of them being that children are visualised as earning successors of their parents from an early age by the society.Cultural norms also play a part due to which,financially struggling families are forced into debting themselves for local events and then expecting children to pay off the loans.Large family systems also children to work due to unsatisfactory income from working heads. (1).Hence,if children work,the family cycle will remain stable.I can assure that this source is valid because the International Labour Organisation does not have any vested interest as one of its purposes is to maintain international peace.

Another argument is that if children don't work,poor families will become even poorer causing undesired problems like an increase in crime rate (2).Studies show that countries with least amount of child labour have one of the highest crime rates such as USA and China (8,11).Children not working also causes financial problems among these families.Due to limited finances,they are deprived of general necessities which leads to decrease life expectancy.These sources are also reliable because they contain up to the date information,the ones I took were from 2024.

Last argument which I’m going to present in favour of child labour leads to character building and skill development of children.Children feel good about themselves when they do work and do it well. This is especially true for children who might feel left out in other ways as we have all seen how doing tasks can make a child feel proud of themselves.Working helps to improve children’s physical and mental health along with their relationships which also boosts their self esteem (3).I can consider this information to be authentic as it is taken from a libertarian magazine which contains recent facts.

While comparing these 3 arguments,the most important one in my opinion is essential income for the family.Increased crime rate and important skills are limited to individuals and only affect them but there is nothing more important than life.Especially in my country of Pakistan,we see daily on news channels about frequent deaths caused by hunger or by natural calamities due to lack of money and inappropriate shelter.Problems like increased crime rate can be solved through increased security but

OPPOSING SIDE

Now coming towards the flip side,the three most popular thoughts about opposing child labour are that it deprives children of their fundamental rights,harsh working environments causes detrimental health effects and child labour leads to economic or

sexual exploitation of children and can potentially sow the seeds for the origin of slavery.

The term child labour literally means the work which snatches the joys of childhood from children and leaves long-lasting harmful effects on their physical and mental health.Child labour also disrupts the school life of children by forcing them to not got to school or by combining it with excessive work forcing premature dropouts (4).As a result of all this injustice,many cases of suicides are rising from all parts of the world with countries like Guyana and Mongolia being affected the most due to increasing child labour (8,12).I can confirm that the sources I used in this argument are trustworthy as there survey size is large which reduces the chances of error.

Talking about the second argument now, it says that about 10% children suffer from child labour globally with mistreatment among them being common. Financial constraints puts pressure on many families internationally and in most cases,the child’s protection is neglected which has unimaginable consequences.Child labour can badly effect physical and mental health of a child,so much that it can even take lives of these innocent souls.TrafficKing of these children is common too.It also restricts their access to healthcare (5).Consequently,there are news of children getting kidnapped and being mistreated every other day in developing countries such as Pakistan,India and Bangladesh.Hence,foreign investors hesitate to establish their business in such countries with security issues resulting in less foreign exchange and struggling economy.I can certainly say that the source used here is trustworthy because it is taken from a global organization which works for the betterment of children and would not spread any false information.

Last argument that I’m going to mention speaking against child labour is that it risks the safety and health of children.Children are hired on minimum wages by industrial sectors mainly for labour work such as in mining industry.Either they are ordered to find the raw materials by digging in deep mines or they are forced to carry and transport heavy raw materials towards trucks like limestone.As this type of work is carried out in undeveloped or developing countries,the safety protocols are usually ignored like no masks or protective helmets which results in deaths of these children due to suffocation.In other cases,mining facilities are poorly built which results in the collapse of the whole structure causing sudden death of many workers.There was just a recent report of mine explosion in Pakistan in which 12 people died (13).Working in mines can also cause a harmful disease,asthma among children.The source that I used here I believe is authentic because it is taken from a global organization which works for the betterment of children and would not spread any false information.

While comparing these arguments,the most important one in my opinion are the hazardous conditions that children are provided with while working like brick kilns.There’s no doubt that the deprivation of children’s childhood and their exploitation do make an impact but in most cases,this is limited to individuals as the childhood of a particular child is deprived and same is the case with with exploitation.But the harsh working environments not only causes deaths and life long diseases like lung cancer but,the country has to face global sanctions which disrupts the economic cycle of the country and the country can potentially default too.

COURSE OF ACTION

The harms caused by child labour are not really unavoidable.The following measures can be taken to address them;By utilizing social media platforms to share informative posts and videos about child labour issues,by organising awareness campaigns and events in collaboration with international organisations, NGOs, and community groups,By partnering with influential figures, celebrities, and policymakers to address the issues of child labour in public gatherings.

One way to control child labour is by contacting your area’s law makers and asking them to make such amendments in the constitution which ensure that no products are made with child labour (9).As child labour laws aim to lessen the mistreatment of children and guarantee their access to school.By enforcing such laws, governments can prevent the exploitation of children and provide support for families to reduce economic pressures.Studies show that countries with strict child labor laws like China and the Middle-East have lower rates of child labour and higher rates of school enrollment among children (8).

As compared to other solutions which require a lot of financial resources,this course of action is quite feasible as with the power and use of social media,informative posts and videos about child labour issues, by organisations with international organisations can guide. Social media is accessible to each individual in today’s world free of cost which grants them freedom of speech to a broader audience allowing them to express their opinion openly.

However,this course of action may not be totally certain as strict enforcement of child labour laws may face challenges in countries like Pakistan where factors such as inequality and corruption exists which persists child labour. (10).Nevertheless,the application of child labour laws is important in tackling child labour, even though it may not completely eradicate child labour, it can significantly reduce its spread and reduce its harmful effects on children.

CONCLUSION

In my opinion,the debate about whether child labour is justified revolves around different perspectives based on its effects.One side says that poverty forces children to work and not working causes unwanted problems like increase and crime rate.Alongside,it also develops character and skills like work experience while the other side argues that child labour leads to the deprivation of children’s liberty and prevents them from going to school ,while continuing inter-generational poverty within families and communities.Child Labour results in a deficient childhood,damaging their health and overall development.Additionally,it traps families in a cycle of economic hardship.While both effects are harmful,the violation of children’s rights and the never needing cycle of poverty resulting from child Labour have more intense and long lasting negative impacts on the individuals and society also resulting in a country’s bad reputation globally.In conclusion,the argument lean towards the view that child Labour is unjustified, as it’s negative impacts on children’s well being and societal development outweigh any potential economic benefits.

Reflecting on how my perspective has evolved;before working on this report,my understanding about the topic was limited.I was unable to understand the topic fully but due to detailed analysis and research on various global and local perspectives,my point of view has changed a lot.Now,I recognize the need to address the detrimental effects of child labour on a global level so that the effectiveness of such form of work is reduced and discouraged!