Child labour continues to be a deep-rooted socio-economic issue in India, with rag picking emerging as one of the most exploitative and hazardous occupations for children. While both boys and girls are involved in this informal sector, girls face additional challenges due to gender-based discrimination, lack of educational opportunities, and more vulnerability to exploitation and abuse. This study explores the socio-economic conditions, health risks, and an educational barrier faced by girl rag pickers and assesses the effectiveness of existing child labour laws and social protection policies in addressing these concerns. Using a descriptive and exploratory research approach, this study is based on secondary data analysis, drawing from government reports, academic research, legal frameworks, and NGO publications. The findings indicate that girl rag pickers work in unsafe and unhygienic conditions, often without protective gear, making them vulnerable to severe health risks, including malnutrition, infections, and chronic illnesses. Additionally, many girls are denied access to education due to financial constraints, domestic responsibilities, and the social perception that girls' labour is necessary for household survival. Despite the existence of child protection laws such as the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, and the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, their weak enforcement and lack of gender-specific provisions leave girl rag pickers without adequate support or legal protection. This study underscores the urgent need for targeted policy interventions, including stronger law enforcement, gender-sensitive social protection programs, and inclusive education initiatives. It advocates for accessible healthcare, vocational training, and financial support for families, ensuring that girl rag pickers are given the opportunity to escape exploitative labour and build a better future. By addressing these structural barriers, this research contributes to the broader goal of eradicating child labour through sustainable, gender-responsive policy reforms.
Abstract Motivation Child labour persists in the global South. After ratifying the International Labour Organization's Convention No. 138, on “the minimum age for admission to employment and work,” many southern countries have legislated minimum age criteria to fulfil their International Labour Organizations obligations. Often, however, making law has neither significantly reduced child labour nor boosted school attendance—largely because of states' inability to ensure compliance. Purpose We investigate, using the case of Nepal, whether legal knowledge about minimum age standards among parents supplying, and employers demanding, child labour makes a difference to child labour. Methods and approach Drawing on data from communities in the Terai of Nepal, we use mixed methods to find correlations between legal knowledge, compliance with child labour laws, and prevalence of child labour. We draw on two novel data sets: a large household survey of parents and children, and a small census of owners of brick kilns, where child labour is often seen. We also make use of qualitative interviews with citizens in one community in the Terai. Findings We show that when parents and employers know the law on child labour, they are more likely to comply with it. Perceptions of the law also matter, independently of legal knowledge. When individuals know the legal working age and believe it is appropriate, we see even more compliance. Policy implications These findings suggest that, even when enforcing the law may be difficult and costly, informing and educating parents and employers may be a less costly way to reduce child labour. Such measures would be even more effective if paired with efforts to change perceptions of the law.
Purpose: The aim of this study is to analyze the status of migrant child laborers in all the ten districts of Western Odisha in India. Identification of the area of concentration of migrant child labor in Western Odisha and evaluations of dimensions of the problem has been made in this article. Approach/Methodology/Design: In this study descriptive qualitative research method is applied. The population of the research was the innocent migrant child laborers and their parents of Western Odisha .Total sampling technique was used in this study. The sample consisted of eighty migrant child laborers that had migrated to Andhra Pradesh and were rescued by the author with the help of Labor & Employment Department, Government of Odisha, Government of Andhra Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh Police. Findings: The result of the study indicates that due to acute poverty, illiteracy of children and their parents, low family income and big family size, people have migrated from one state to another state with their family members and children in search of works and higher wages. It is also found out that children are forced to work in hazardous occupations like brick kilns instead of going to schools. Moreover, it can be stated that the lack of awareness and non-implementation of Labour Laws are also among the main reasons for the prevalence of child labour. Practical Implications: The research study contributes to the understanding of the causes, consequences and remedies of child labor problems in the society. The results will provide solutions to the stakeholders to integrate the victims of child labor for the betterment of their lives. Originality/value: The study explores the impact of the child labor system on the society. Certain possible solutions are suggested to make Western Odisha, Odisha as well as the whole country, free from child labor practices.
This research paper conducts a critical evaluation of the potency of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act of 2016 by tackling factors that impact the effectiveness of the act. It examines the socio-economic and historical context of child labour by constructing parallels to the key legal provisions of the act, which portrays the defects of the act. It aims at assessing the effectiveness of the act in eliminating child labour as envisaged by the Indian Constitution by exploring challenges in formulation and implementation through a judicial lens.
Child labour remains one of the most persistent social challenges confronting India. Children are engaged in diverse sectors such as agriculture, brick kilns, construction sites, stone quarries, hotels, restaurants, animal husbandry, small-scale manufacturing, and domestic work often within informal and unregulated settings. A combination of economic, social, and structural factors contributes to this phenomenon, significantly constraining the physical, psychological, moral, and social development of children. Migrant child labour has become increasingly visible across the country, with many children compelled to abandon schooling due either to limited awareness of their rights or to economic pressures arising from poverty-stricken household conditions.This study examines the contemporary situation of child labour in India, identifies its underlying causes, reviews constitutional safeguards, legal provisions, and child welfare programmes, and offers recommendations aimed at addressing this entrenched problem. Although India is constitutionally committed to child welfare, the gap between legal intent and actual implementation continues to remain a matter of serious concern [1].
This research paper aimed to evaluate the child labor causes and the subsequent policy framework made to tackle the issue in Pakistan. Further, the researcher aimed to evaluate the mechanism of sketching the policy and its implementation in its spirit. In recent times, one of the deadliest problems that haunting the world in general and Pakistan in particular. The issue of child labor is considered to be a crucial global issue to the world. It not only affecting the under developing world but also developing ones. A child is considered to be the future of the modern world who are considered to be the agents of change but how it would survive if thrown in child labor curse. This research paper investigated the possible child labor causes in Pakistan which are not new but prevalent for many decades and the later impacts of this curse on the child’s health, mentality, development and society as whole. It is pertinent that Child labor should be lensed through social and economic glance to fully comprehend the issue. This research paper highlights the key factor of children of particular age indulged in child labor and the efforts and programs and laws made to curb the issue.
The right to decent work is a fundamental human right that applies to everyone without exception, including children. This is clearly stated in several Indonesian laws, such as Law No. 39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights, Law No. 13 of 2003 concerning Manpower, and Law No. 23 of 2002 in conjunction with Law No. 35 of 2014 concerning Children. Although many legal provisions aim to protect children from exploitation in the workplace, the situation still needs improvement due to a lack of effective implementation. The labour inspectorate is responsible for enforcing these laws, but the number of inspectors is limited, and their authority often needs to be fully implemented. As a result, many children are still working in dangerous or exploitative conditions, which is unacceptable. Therefore, it is crucial to strengthen the labour inspectorate's role by increasing the number of implementing personnel and improving their authority's effectiveness to ensure child labours’ protection.
The paper attempts to read through the representation of gender in Usha Priyamvada‟s Pachpan Khambe Laal Deewarien, translated in English as Fifty-five pillars, Red Walls. It presents the layered character of Sushma, a middle-class working woman trapped within the rigid structures of patriarchy and social expectation. Sushma emerges as a figure who performs roles of a daughter, provider, teacher, and caretaker—while suppressing her own emotional and personal desires. The novel critically examines how women ‟side ntities are, constructed ‟through sacrifice and duty in a patriarchal society. How shies put on a pedestal and worshiped but never really seen and heard in the true sense. Another question that arises, is of performance. Is Sushma essentially feminine or she performs masculinity? Sushma‟s life is plagued by emotional restraint and social performance. Her individuality is continuously sub ordinated to familiars’ responsibilities, reveal in how patriarchy often exploits women‟s labor under the guise of duty and respectability. Judith Butler’s idea of gender as performance becomes relevant here, as Sushma performs the role of the “ideal woman” according to societal norms, despite her inner dissatisfaction and loneliness. The relationship between Sushma and Neel highlights the tension between desire and social conformity. Although she experiences emotional intimacy and the possibility of personal happiness, she ultimately withdraws because society does not permit a woman of her age and status to prioritize her own desires. Her sacrifices not portrayed dichroic but tragic, exposing the emotional violence embedded within patriarchal structures. Sushma’s limited agency reflects the condition of many middle-class Indian women who internalize social expectations and regulate their own behavior. The symbolic setting of the “fifty-five pillars” and “red walls” represents confinement, surveillance, and emotional imprisonment. Thus, the novel becomes a powerful critique of gendered oppression, illustrating how patriarchy schools’ women into silence, endurance, and self-denial while denying them emotional freedom and autonomy.
Child labour remains widespread in the urban slums of Bangladesh. Empirical studies indicate that various local-level factors drive poor families and children to engage in child labour. However, the role of structural factors and environmental realities is underrepresented in the current scholarship. This investigation examined the role of these factors in normalizing child labour in the slum communities of Dhaka. The researcher adapted a socio-ecological model to develop a conceptual framework for collecting qualitative data from the slum communities of two recently urbanized areas of the city: Hazaribagh and Matuail. A five-month fieldwork project was carried out to conduct 40 semi-structured interviews and two focus group discussions with parents and community members. The data analysis resulted in the following findings. A lack of access to schooling pushed many children into labour. The opportunities for children’s employment in the informal sector remained abundant, and the absence of documents complicated law enforcement. Due to inconsistent adult income, many families are involved in child labour to increase their household income. Local employers chose children over adults for certain occupations due to their low wages and easy-to-control nature. Natural disasters, climate change, and family difficulties drove a large number of families to these slums, and informal employment opportunities for both adults and children drew them there. The shortage of playgrounds and specialized schooling shaped children’s tendency to work more. All together, child labour has become a cultural reality. Policies and interventions aiming to reduce child labour must influence these structural factors and provide support to families and children.
Child labor is one of the biggest roadblock to human rights worldwide. The impact of parental education on child labor is explored in Bajaur using binary logistic approach. This research is based on primary data collected from 300 hundred households through field survey out of which 150 are taken from Khar division and 150 from Nawagai division. The results revealed that the parental education and income of households were negatively correlated with child labour, whereas the age of child and family size had positive impact on child labour.
