Children shouldn’t work in fields, but on their dreams

The UN General Assembly declared 2021 as the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour. “A lot of children came to the city from Jharkand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh following the closure of schools there,” said Pallavi Porwal, chairperson, Child Welfare Committee, Indore. A large number migrate due to poverty and unemployment there,” says Lokendra Sharma, Juvenile Justice Board member and former chairman, Child Welfare Committee, Ujjain, adding further “Surprisingly, no missing complaints of these children are recorded there.” Poor families send their children to work with the belief they will get some cash in hand. Increasing poverty could push an additional 9 million children into child labour by the end of this year.” At the Group of Friends of Children and the Sustainable Development Goals’ first meeting on 13 April, 2022, she reiterated the her statement while adding, “UNICEF estimates that an additional 10 million girls are at the risk for child marriage, and there is mounting evidence of increases in gender-based violence and sexual abuse.” Voicing her concern, she said pandemic-related school closures had made a bad situation much worse with children now not being able to recognise letters and forgetting how to read. Instead of being the great equaliser, education is becoming a great divider.” On its part by strengthening the social security workforce, the transnational body has tried to curb child labour and enrol children in schools.