Child labour: A painful reality  

I often go to a motor garage and see a young boy of 10 or 12 years of age working very hard to make both ends meet and I always feel sorry for him. In the same way countless other young boys are seen toiling hard to look after themselves and support their families. It is painful that at a time when they should be in school listening to their teachers or playing with friends after school, they are away from both spending their days in sweat and backbreaking labour.

According to statistics, around 10 per cent of our children aged between 5-14 works as child labour and 90 per cent of them are working in the non-formal sector. Although per capita income is increasing in the country, a significant number of children are still found working as child labour. The problem of child labour will continue to prevail as long as we are unable to contain extreme poverty. The United Nations is working on this matter and I think that everybody should join hands to make the world free of child labour. At the same time, the developed countries also should extend necessary help and assistance to help eradicate the curse of child labour. Children are the future of the world and they cannot be allowed to sell their labour in this way.

Sojol Chowdhury

Badda, Dhaka