Swapna (not her real name) began working as a housemaid at the tender age of 10 but the 17-year-old is now a sex worker by profession. Having offered her service as a domestic worker for two years, she had to leave as her employer refused to take her service anymore. She then managed another job at a house where she was abused by the son of her employer. The incident put her in deep emotional distress and she decided to take an alternative route. She adopted a new name and now identifies herself as Swapna instead of her real name in an effort to bury her past.
Like Swapna, her friend Jashim had to choose a different course of action in life. Jashim used to work at a welding shop until the day some people approached his employer and requested him to let the boy get admitted to an informal school which they established to educate working children for a better future. Jashim was elated by the opportunity but the blessing turned into a curse as after one and a half years, the school was shut down and the teachers never returned. Jashim is now making a living as a hijacker. Utter frustration has also forced him towards drugs and he also bears the identity of a drug peddler. “Who the hell told those people to let us feel what education is?” Jashim sometimes asks himself.
There are many like Swapna and Jashim whose lives descend into uncertainty when we talk about elimination of child labour without deciding on a proper rehabilitation strategy, rights activists observed while speaking to the Dhaka Tribune. They raised questions: Whether or not should child labour be justified in times of extreme financial hardship? Whether or not was working right if a child’s wage helped his family pay for some of the basic necessities of life?
In light of the questions, the activists said they were thinking about differentiating child work from child labour.
“If children are above the minimum age to work and are employed for a limited number of hours in a safe environment, then working may be beneficial to both themselves and their families. Besides, we can also protect them from taking a wrong path as they lead their lives,” noted rights activist Khushi Kabir told the Dhaka Tribune.
“Withdrawing these children from their work without rehabilitating them will be irresponsible,” she said.
Back in 2006, Bangladesh enacted the Labour Act which prohibits employment of children below 14. It also mentions a prohibition on hazardous forms of labour for children under 18. However, children aged 12 and above may be engaged in “light work” that does not pose a risk to their lives.
Wahida Banu, executive director of Aparajeyo Bangladesh, said instead of thinking about arranging light work for children, the focus should be on how to rehabilitate them. “We must ensure that the children who we wish not to become engaged in taxing work are provided with quality education and alternative income opportunities,” she added.
The 2009 National Report on Bangladesh by Unicef says 33 million children in Bangladesh, almost half of all the children in the country, are living in poverty while about one in four children is deprived of at least four basic needs of life among food, education, healthcare, information, shelter, water and sanitation.