No childhood

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has estimated that in the 1990s 11 million children were working in the country, half of whom were under the age of ten. According to the ILO, Child Labour is defined as work that has the potential to deprive children of their childhood and their dignity, and is also harmful for their physical, moral and mental development. It hampers their education (either through child workers not being allowed to attend school, leaving school prematurely i.e., without compulsory education or being forced into a combination of school attendance and heavy work.).A large number of these children are employed through informal economy in the streets, in private structures or in homes, deprived of any form of safety and recognition. Denying children their fundamental right to be educated between the ages of five to 16 exposes them to hazards, hampers their development and puts them at risk of violence, which may be physical and psychological. It goes on to say that these children are extremely vulnerable to exploitation including commercial and sexual as well as trafficking. The new government must take steps to help these children.Areeba Muneer, Karachi

from The News International - Newspost https://ift.tt/2YmaRaD