Eradicating of child labor:a global challenge

Children are the most precious gift of Allah and future of any nation. Any nation that want to developed in future should try its best to facilitate its children. Nalson Mandela held the view that:
“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s
soul than the way in which it treats its children.

In an age where in they must go to school, study play with friends and enjoy their life. There are forced to earn and living themselves. They work for their families to fulfill their basic needs. They work on shops, factories and providing services to other families like as a cleaner. Their aspirations, dreams and wishes have no meaning. They are treated as the most neglected part of society. There are multiples factors that are the responsible of child labor problem. Uneven distribution of wealth, poverty, lack of education, high rate of population growth, low economic growth and hence unemployment. All the above factors that are playing major role in the aggravating this issue in Pakistan and elsewhere in the world. Poverty is a greatest cause behind the child labor issue. According to the world bank reported entitled “world Development Indicators”2013-60% of population is living below poverty line. The international poverty line is $2 a day or an income of Rs.200 per day. According to (UNDP) the daily income of 65.5% people in below $2 a day. UNICEF and ILO acknowledge an estimated 168 million children aged 5 to 17 year involved in child labor worldwide. In 2012 Pakistan government passed the Human Right Act, to eliminate worst form of child labor and increased access to education for children between aged 5 to 16 years though the Right to free and Compulsory Education Act and launched the Waseela-e-Taleem initiative under Benazir Income Support Program. Child labor is an complex issue that can be abolished through individual efforts and also collectively through the awareness among the parents about this detrimental effects of child labor. It is important for every member of society to play a significant role in presenting children from entering exploitative from labor and empowering them through education and skill enhancement. The fight against child labor is continue but pace of progress is insufficient to achieve the ILO target of eliminating its worst forms by 2016.