Child Labour

The Social Context: Child Labour

The Social Context: Child Labour

Introduction

This paper provides an analysis of the experience of Child Labour in the social contexts in which I grew up. It also explores attitudes to childhood as well as issues of class, gender and 'race' in relation to the Child Labour with some exploration of children's rights in the social context in India. However, some scholars think that in the 1990's, India had a striking decline in child labour and boost in schooling.

At first I would like to discuss the worldwide Child Labour condition. In 2008, the UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) estimated that some 158 million children worldwide, ages 05 to 14, are engaged in child labour. Children engaged in child labour work for little or no pay, often at hazardous jobs such as mining or working with pesticides and chemicals. The majority of children engaged in child labour around the world work in agriculture. Many others work in "invisible" occupations outside the formal workforce, such as street peddling. Children engaged in child labour are unable to attend school regularly or to have any say in how their wages are used. Child labour is both a result of poverty and a factor in the persistence of poverty.

Discussion

Throughout most of history, child labour was common. In preindustrial societies, it was normal for children to work with their parents to produce food, tend animals, and do other tasks. During the Industrial Revolution, children were frequently put to work in factories or mines, often under deplorable conditions. In many cases boys and girls as young as six worked twelve to sixteen hours per day and were beaten by their bosses if they fell asleep on the job. Children operated dangerous machinery or did other risky tasks such as chimney sweeping or crawling through narrow mine tunnels, without any protective measures. Britain's Factory Act of 1802, which specified that children ages nine to thirteen could work no more than eight hours per day and that children ages fourteen to eighteen could work no more than twelve hour per day, was considered an enlightened piece of legislation for its time. (Edward 125-130 )

Child labour is a result of poverty. It also persists because employers benefit by hiring children instead of adults. Children have no power or autonomy, and are therefore in no position to complain about low wages or unfair conditions.

Child Labour in India

It is quite common to see any young boy namely “Chhota” (young boy) scrubbing pots and cleaning tables in a roadside restaurant. Ddespite many treaties and laws, child labour stays as an massive trouble, and thousands of Indian children have no admission to fundamental education.

Investigations have revealed that more children work in India than anywhere else in the World, starting at the age of five. In India at least 44 million children are engaged in hazardous work. Children in India are suffering many problems starting with poverty in the own country and their families, most children are ...