Child labor in India has always been prevalent, but due to the pandemic the numbers are at an all-time high.
Photo courtesy of Vignesh S.
India has always had a large number of child laborers. In 2019, 152 million children were working. In the last two years, there has been an increase of 8 million children to the workforce. There is a great risk that this new generation will be academically displaced.
Before the pandemic, being in school protected children from child labor. However, with most families out of work or working to get by, the most vulnerable have to pay the cost: children. Children are often working 16 hour days in inhumane conditions. There are many contributing factors to this issue, the largest being that a third of the Indian population is living under the poverty line. With families working and narrowly making ends meet, families may feel they have no other choice but to send their children to work. Another factor is the country’s high illiteracy rate of 287 million people. Children who do not get a basic education will become illiterate adults, making them a target for underpaying jobs that creates an intergenerational cycle of poverty within the family.
The states where child laborers are most prevalent are Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, where over half of the country’s children work. Uttar Pradesh in northern India is the state with the highest number of child laborers, 20 percent of children work in the silk industry and child laborers work in textile factories making garments for big companies. Gap was once in the headlines when someone discovered children working in the shops. Many of the child laborers were there due to their families selling them. Taking swift action, Gap responded and said, “the factory was being run by a subcontractor who was hired in violation of Gap’s policies, and none of the products made there will be sold in its stores.” Additionally, the spokesman for Gap Bill Chandler told The Associated Press, “Under no circumstances is it acceptable for children to produce or work on garments.” Since then Gap decided to stand up against child laborers and stated on their website that they would be “removing young workers from the facility.”
Children will work all kinds of jobs from carpet manufacturing, farming, brick making and gem extracting/polishing to selling cigarettes on the streets for the tobacco industry. Indian law prohibits children under the age of 14 to work and teens from age 14-18 to do any work that is considered hazardous. Nonetheless, most go unnoticed due to lack of enforcement of the law. Companies that turn a blind eye to this issue will oftentimes not recognize the child’s labor. Children will be forced to work long hours with no compensation or very little compensation. It has been reported that a child can make as little as 52 cents a day, if they are paid at all. They are frequently abused physically, verbally or sexually. Sexual exploitation in India is widespread, with 1.2 million children involved in prostitution.
The mental and physical effects of this arduous and traumatic experience have consequences. Exposed children may experience mental health issues, causing a disruption in their emotional development. Many psychiatric disorders can stem from child labor, for example, depression, mood disorder, attachment issues, psychogenic seizures, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse. The physical effects include but are not limited to exposure to toxic substances, working in extreme temperatures, malnutrition, sleep deprivation and death. The mental and physical toll it takes on the child will be long term if it is not dealt with.
According to one estimate, more than 20 percent of India’s economy is dependent on children. This is a large financial burden on the hands of young people who should be exploring and playing, nurtured in their formative years, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. The government’s accountability is key to move forward and to bring change to an already impacted generation. The laws that protect children need to be enforced and further tightened.
The extreme poverty that has affected India is another root cause of child labor. According to Humanium, a organization that defends children’s rights, this is the primary reason children are falling victim to child labor. Their need to grow up before their time and help feed their impoverished family is only a momentary fix. This will impact their future and the future generations that will come after them.
To Get Involved:
Global March is an organization that seeks to eliminate child labor. Their mission is to ensure free access to education. To learn more about Global March click here.
To support the children of India through Global March click here.
Jenn Sung
Jenn is a Communications Studies graduate based in Los Angeles. She grew up traveling with her dad and that is where her love for travel stems from. You can find her serving the community at her church, Fearless LA or planning her next trip overseas. She hopes to be involved in international humanitarian work one day.