Child Labor

Child labour is pervasive problem in Nepal. As revealed by a study carried out by CWIN the pioneer movement for the right of child working children in Nepal come across with the following problems such as work at night, too young to work in appropriate work for children, low wages and long working hours, economic exploitation by adults, lack of basic education opportunities, separation from parents, abuse and neglect, physical
and emotional exploitation, no rest or entertainment, not having their basic needs met, inappropriate child rearing atmosphere, lack of adequate parental love, care and understanding, lack of social security and attention and violation of child’s right law. 

The assumption that child labour, a chronic and deep-rooted problem, is peculiar to developing countries. It is a complex reality, a burning problem and a universal phenomenon. It is, in fact, a betrayal of child’s rights as a human being and an offence against civilization. It persists in its most dehumanizing form, especially in an unorganized sector. By and large, it is an employment of children (5 to 14 years) engaged in hazardous and other gainful occupations, which are injurious to their development.

Child labour is a result of unjust system and structures within a society. Some of the causes of child labour are poverty and gross inequality, unjust income distribution or land distribution, political instability, discrimination, migration, crime and failure to enforce the law, traditional cultural practices, employer’s desire for cheap and flexible labour, gender inequity, adult unemployment, inadequate social protection, poor and inadequate education, desire for consumer goods, crisis situation like national disaster, economic recession, armed conflict. Child labour has significant consequences for children, their families, the communities and the countries in which they live. Although some type of work by children can be beneficial in terms of a child’s growth and development, on the whole child labour in South Asia is extremely detrimental to children. 

Child labour is a product of low living standard of the population resulting from the low level of income, illiteracy and increasingly lack of means of subsistence food, shelter and clothing and inadequate basic schooling and education. Thus, the practice of child labours considered as effective means of augmenting the current level of income among the poor families so as to enhance, by and large their economic well- being (CDPS 1999).

Some groups advocate protecting the right of children to work and to bargain for better working conditions. However, the very concept of children working violates standards set by international conventions related to children. A child's rights are non-negotiable. All children are equally entitled to their rights without discrimination, regardless of their economic, social or biological background. Their need to work because of economic necessity, or other reasons, does not create a new children's "right" to work replacing their rights to education, play, and protection from economic exploitation. Forcing children to work for their own survival is society's denial of their fundamental right.