Peer-reviewed article
An analysis of the socioeconomic and cultural aspects of child labour in district Kurram, KPK, Pakistan
Muhammad Ali Turi, Dr. Zahid Anwar Khan ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examines why child labour exists in district Kurram, Pakistan, focusing on socioeconomic and cultural factors that drive it. Researchers surveyed 204 children aged 10-15 working in various sectors to understand how poverty, family size, and cultural norms contribute to the practice. The findings show that children work to support their families while remaining unaware of their rights and facing poor working conditions. The study calls for interventions to improve education access, workplace conditions, and rights awareness in the region.
Key points
- Most child labourers surveyed were aged 10-15 years and belonged to Bangash and Turi tribes
- Children work primarily to earn money for their families without understanding their rights
- Poverty, family income levels, and the number of children in a family are key drivers of child labour
- Conflict persistence and social/cultural norms significantly influence the prevalence of child labour
- Child labourers had minimal education and were exposed to bad working conditions
Limitations
This is a descriptive cross-sectional study without a comparison group, so it cannot establish causal relationships between socioeconomic factors and child labour, nor can it measure the effectiveness of any interventions. The study is limited to one district in Pakistan and may not represent child labour patterns in other regions.
Abstract
This research explores the socio: economic and cultural determinants of child labour in district Kurram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with particular emphasis on how it affects the education and welfare of the children. It focuses on the role of parental participation, family income and the number of children they have to feed, dress and bring up alongside harmful impacts of poverty and culture. The study hypothesizes that, child labour is a complex phenomenon influenced by socioeconomic realities and cultural norms, especially where conflicts persist and social norms prevail. Using a quantitative research design, information was gathered using a questionnaire survey from 204 child labourers working in different sectors, which demonstrated that most are (10-15)and belong to Bangash and Turi tribes with minimal education andexposure to bad working conditions. Findings show that, children in suchsituations earn money for their family without knowing their rights.Therefore, it calls for interventions for enhancing the access to education,working conditions and rights awareness etc. It also seeks to enlighten thepolicy makers and other stake-holders regarding the imperative requirementto address child labour in District Kurram through holistic measures tocounter this pressing social issue, providing children in the area a betterfuture.