June 12, World Day Against Child Labor – Facts and Why we need to protect children & their basic human rights.
Depriving kids of their childhood.
Childhood. The word alone makes us think of toothless grins, chirpy giggles and spontaneous laughter. Any parent will tell you that what they want most is for their kids to be happy. The best part of childhood is the carefree enjoyment and the anticipation of living every new day to the fullest. But there’s a side marring this pretty picture and it is as real as it gets. That undesirable side is known as child labor.
Imagine grimy little kids with tiny hands and feet working hard to feed their families. If not their families, then their situations are such that they are pushed into the darkness of child labor. No parent wants to wish such a life upon their children but there are millions around the world who are living this nightmare every minute of their lives.
TOP 10 Nations battling the problem of Child Labor
1. Bangladesh
2. Chad
3. Democratic Republic of Congo
4. Ethiopia
5. India
6. Liberia
7. Myanmar
8. Nigeria
9. Pakistan
10. Somalia
What is Child Labor?
“Child Labor means employment for children that harms them whether physically, mentally, morally, or exploits them in any way, or blocks their education process.”
Every year on June 12, we celebrate World Day against child labor to raise awareness about the plight of child workers all around the world and what can be done to help them.
It is estimated that, around the World 215 million kids are working as child laborers and 115 million of these are engaged in works that deprives them of adequate education, health, leisure and basic freedom. Most of the times, these are the kids who face child abuse and whose rights are being violated. Millions of kids are exposed to the worst kind of labor, hazardous work environments, slavery, child trafficking, drug trafficking and prostitution.
The theme for 2013 World Day against child labor is “Let’s end child labor in domestic work”.
Here are some heartbreaking facts about child labor
1) Every year 22000 children die due to work related accidents.
2) 73 million working kids are less than 10 years old
3) According to UNICEF, 1.2 million children are trafficked each year–many for purposes of sexual exploitation
4) Millions of girls have been the victim of child labor in the form of domestic servants, and are more likely to be exposed to exploitations and abuse, including sexual harassment.
Child laborers who've gone unnoticed.
And these are the known facts. There are millions of children who've gone unnoticed. There’s no record of where they are or how they disappeared. We can only imagine what their lives must be like. Their childhoods robbed from them and their rights being violated by people like you and me. Calling them victims of child labor is unfair because So today, let’s pledge ourselves to end child labor. It may not be an easy task, but at least it’s a start.
