THE STOLEN CHILDHOOD: A CRY AGAINST CHILD LABOUR (Article by: Noorjahan Aziz)

THE STOLEN CHILDHOOD:

A CRY AGAINST CHILD LABOUR

(Article by: Noorjahan Aziz)

Childhood is meant to be the safest chapter of life — a time of learning, innocence, and dreams.

But across the world, for millions of children, childhood ends before it even begins. Their mornings start not in classrooms but in factories, kilns, workshops, fields, or on the streets. Their tiny hands, meant to hold pencils and toys, are instead covered in dust, wounds, and exhaustion.

 

This is not a distant tragedy. It lives among us. It breathes in the corners of our cities. It walks barefoot beside traffic lights. It hides behind the flames of brick kilns. And every time we turn our eyes away, another childhood is lost.

 

As one Urdu saying painfully reminds us:

"بچپن مزدوری کے لیے نہیں، محبت اور تعلیم کے لیے بنا ہے۔"

(Childhood is made for love and learning, not for labour.)

 

WHAT CHILD LABOUR REALLY LOOKS LIKE

Child labour is not a single problem — it is a chain of wounds:

 

Long hours under dangerous conditions

 

Exposure to toxic chemicals, heat, machinery, and violence

 

Zero access to education

 

Physical and emotional abuse

 

Threats, debt bondage, and exploitation by employers

 

Psychological trauma that lasts a lifetime

 

Many of these children begin work as early as 5 to 7 years old. Some carry bricks heavier than their bodies. Some stitch footballs for hours. Some polish shoes, sell flowers, wash dishes, break stones, or collect garbage. Nearly all of them work in silence.

 

These children do not ask for much — only the chance to live a life that every child deserves.

 

WHY CHILD LABOUR STILL EXISTS

 

The roots run deep:

 

Poverty that forces parents to choose survival over schooling

 

Lack of free, accessible education

 

Weak law enforcement

 

Corruption and illegal labour networks

 

Industries that exploit children for cheap labour

 

Social acceptance — people ignoring what happens in front of them

 

And the bitter truth is this:

Where society fails to protect its weakest, exploitation grows.

 

As another Urdu line captures the helplessness:

"جب معاشرہ انصاف نہ دے سکے تو بچے اپنے خواب بیچنے پر مجبور ہو جاتے ہیں۔"

(When society fails to provide justice, children are forced to sell their dreams.)

 

THE HIDDEN COST: WHAT THE WORLD LOSES

 

When a child is forced into labour, the world loses:

 

A future doctor

 

A future scientist

 

A future artist

 

A future leader

 

A future teacher

 

A future dreamer

 

Child labour doesn’t just break the child — it breaks the nation. A society that allows its children to suffer stays trapped in poverty, inequality, and darkness.

 

 

THE RESPONSIBILITY IS OURS — NOT THEIRS

 

Ending child labour is not only the government’s job. It requires all of us:

 

Speak up when you witness child exploitation

 

Support education for underprivileged children

 

Reject businesses that benefit from illegal child labour

 

Raise awareness in your community

 

Report abusive employers

 

Donate or volunteer with trusted organizations

 

Respect and uplift families instead of judging them

 

 

Silence is also a form of cruelty.

A child’s life cannot improve if society continues to look away.

 

A FUTURE WORTH FIGHTING FOR

Imagine a world where no child works in a factory…

Where tiny hands hold books, not burdens…

Where laughter replaces fear…

Where dreams replace debts…

 

This world is possible — but only if we choose it.

 

Every movement begins with a voice.

Today, that voice is yours.

 

Let this article be a reminder, a wake-up call, and a promise that no child will be forgotten. Stand for them. Speak for them. Fight for them. Because children are not tools for labour — they are the heartbeat of our future.

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