Essaar's Writing Itinerary

The old adage, “Three feet of ice does not result from one day of freezing weather” certainly holds true when it comes to defining the issue of the pervasive child labor in Bangladesh. For quite a lot of years, the tender-aged children have been found working as laborers in the garment and leather industries, domestic servants, construction workers, etc. in the country and the phenomenon of child labor has been treated as a panacea for the problems of severe poverty since long. While there are many who condemn the employment of children in the industrial sector and express strong disapproval of the ever-growing social malice, the harsh necessity of child labor in Bangladesh seems unavoidable unless the nexus amongst the child labor practice, poverty, education, poor law enforcement, gender discrimination, and cultural and socioeconomic factors is revealed and defined.

In contemplating all of this, a question surfaces if what are the underlying causes of the hazardous child labor in Bangladesh and what contributes to its prevalence. The first and the foremost factor being accountable for the increasing incidence of child labor in the country is the high rate of poverty. With a rapid population growth and low-income opportunities, there is no alternative left than to rely on the earnings of the children in the poverty-stricken families. In addition to it, the lack of effective education system also fuels the abusive child labor practices. Although, the Bangladesh constitution assures of providing free basic education to the children aged between 6 and 10, there are a number of families who cannot bear the additional expenses of reading materials and transportation consequently forcing the children to work along with their academic pursuit. Besides, one of the cultural factors being responsible for this prevalent phenomenon is the fear of idleness where the families ask their children to work so as to refrain from being idle and getting involved in felonious acts.

In spite of the fact that the economy of Bangladesh largely depends on the low-priced labor of its young workers in the industrial sector, it has ratified a number of laws pertaining to child labor and child rights from time to time, however, such practices continue to occur. With the Harkin’s Bill being passed in 1993 outlawing the import of products from industries employing child labor, and a labor law outlining the rights of the young workers being legislated in 2006, the children in the garment industry have been provided a considerable relief; however, there have been few who resorted to more undesirable activities later.

Today, child labor is an issue of growing concern in Bangladesh. It is, indeed, one of the most intricate issues and the deep-rooted dilemmas of all times, which needs to be tackled intelligently. The morally wrong practice of child labor cannot be eradicated overnight because it might lead to damaging effects on the economy of the country whereas the complete riddance of child labor would lead to increased poverty as the young workers are deemed as an important economic resource of the impoverished household. In order to solve the multifaceted issue of child labor, an all-inclusive strategy aimed at the elimination of poverty, upgrading of the quality of education, increased social awareness, provision of better wages and proper enforcement of the laws is needed. The juvenile populace of Bangladesh can be freed from the chains of abusive child labor only if the underlying roots are being destroyed as an old wise proverb says, “If the roots are not removed during weeding, the weeds will grow again when the winds of Spring blows.”

The article was published in a magazine called SouthAsia.