Child labour as modern day slavery

Child labour has long existed and is believed to be increasing and becoming a major problem. Children between 5 and 11, as well as teenagers from 15-18 years of age are victims of child labour.
Research has shown that women and girls are disproportionately affected by this modern slavery that child labour has become, accounting for almost 29 million or 71 per cent of the world population.
“Women represent 99 per cent of the victims of forced labour in the commercial sex industry and 84 per cent of forced marriages,” the research reveals.
Poverty and its related problems are some of the main causes of child labour such as educational problems, like distance from school, poor quality of education, overcrowding, inability to support schooling (food, uniforms, exercise books, and school fees), family disintegration due to divorce, and also lack of parental care.
This happens mostly in rural areas where parents give their children to unknown people just to use them for their personal benefits to make money, or send them to be house help and won’t be concerned about their well-being but to use them to make money.
Child labour should be stopped because it is like a communicable disease which can spread from one person to another.
Parents should know the value of their children because they are gifts from God and will become the leaders of tomorrow.
The federal government should provide a law that will guide the right of a girl child against trafficking, child labour and also government should create a forum where the parents will be aware of this menace called child labour.

Usamaah Hajiya,
Department of Mass Communication,
Al-Hikmah University,
Ilorin (an intern with Blueprint Newspapers)
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