Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Session (2007-2009)
Supervised By:
Mr.Syed Mansoor Ali Shah
(Lecturer)
Submitted By:
Supervised By:
Submitted By:
2. M.Kashif Tanveer
3. Noreen Afzal
4. Noreen Hussain
5. Rushba Iram
6. Sabiha Mushtaq
7. Sadaf Nawaz
8. Sadia Rehman
9. Sumbal Mehmood
Department of social work
The Islamia University of
Bahawalpur
I want to
Cry out to the world
The rage of
Chained children.
I want to
Cry out to the world
The pain of
Abused girls.
I want to
Cry out to the world
The unutterable sadness of
Abandoned babes.
I want to
Cry out to the world
The fear of
Maltreated kids.
I want to
Cry out all this to the world.
But who will cry out with me?
Allah
Who Is the Most
Beneficent
Merciful.
I List Of Table 07
II Dedication 10
III
Acknowledgement 11
IV Abstract 13
1 Introduction 15
2 Literature Review 25
Study Rationale 33
3
4 Research Methodology 35
8 Conclusion 112
9 Recommendation 114
10 Annexure 116
11 Bibliography 123
LIST OF TABLES
1. Age 40
2. Gender Ratio 41
3. Cast Distribution 42
4. Language 43
6. Work Length 45
7. Family Size 46
8. No. Of Siblings 47
9. Birth Order 48
To
Who,
Instead of being
as servants to save
and strong……
The most gracious and the most munificent to all domains, the Almighty Allah, Who
created man out of clot and who infused into him such a dynamic force to serve as his
representative in the universe
We offer our humblest and sincerest gratitude to “Allah” who bestowed us the
opportunity and spirit to complete such type of services.
We pay special thanks from the core of our heart to our prestigious supervisor
Mr.Mansoor Ali Shah. Whose help, stimulating suggestions and encouragement helped
us in all the time of research for and writing of this thesis.
We want to thank the department of social work of Islamia University of Bahawalpur for
giving us permission to commence this thesis in the first instances to do the necessary
research work and to use department data.
My sincerest thanks is due to my all group fellows who encouraged each other by joining
all thesis work and we would acknowledge the collaboration shown by group members at
every step and made the moments memorable and special thanks to our supervisor Mr.
Mansoor Ali Shah.
From the core back of heart, our special thanks go to dearest parents who provided us a
lot of opportunities to complete our research work. We express our deepest sense of
gratitude and sincere thankfulness fruit for our thoughts to our affectionate parents for
their moral and financial support through the span of life.
We are also very thankful to all those families who cooperated with us in the phase of
data collection and facilitated us by their all possible means. In the end the entire group
signifies the obligation to each and every person who became the source of help during
our study.
Author
Children are considered as the building blocks of any nation. Stronger and healthier is the
children, stronger and healthier the nation is and vice versa. Pakistan is a poor country
with very low per capita income. This factor results in pushing the children of our
country in labor market. According to the latest researches more than 3 million children
are engaged in child labor in Pakistan. Scientific studies reveal that an estimated 2.3
million children are engaged in domestic labor. Our study was characterized by
pragmatic methodology to seek information about the domestic labor. We carried out
community surveys to estimate the intensity of domestic child labor in Bahawalpur City.
We opted interview schedule and snow ball sampling for the sake of data collection. The
geographic universe of our study was entire area of Bahawalpur city. We approached 100
respondents to seek required Informations regarding domestic child labor. Main findings
of our study include the followings;
50% of respondents were found in between the age group of 9-13 years and 40%
respondents were between the ages of 14-18 years.32% of the respondents were primary
pass while rests of the respondent were illiterate. 70% of respondents were from rural
background.86% respondents were engaged in un-bonded type of labor. Nature of stay of
70% respondents was residential.37% of the respondents had to perform domestic tasks
round the clock and working length of 27% respondents was eight hours a day. Mode of
payment of 67% respondents was cash while 21% respondents got both cash and food as
their mode of payment.36% of the respondents were paid rupees 300-700 per moth and
27% respondents were paid 800-1200 rupees per month. In case of un-announced leaves
13% respondents were punished by their owners and mistakes of 87% respondents were
ignored at all.83% respondents claimed that were provided with recreational
activities.94% respondents were almost satisfied with their employer attitude45%
respondents were satisfied with their current status.76% respondents were compelled for
domestic labor. In case of disease and its treatment 95% respondents got full support of
their owners. When asked about child labor, 71% respondents opposed child labor.
Introduction
But there are also other children, those who cannot go to schools due to financial
problems, they only watch others go to schools and can merely wish to seek knowledge.
It is due to many hindrances and difficulties; desperate conditions that they face in life.
Having been forced to kill their aspirations, dreams and other wishes, they are pressed to
earn a living for themselves and for their families. It is also a fact that there are many
children who play a key role in sustaining the economically life of their family without
which, their families would not be able to make ends meet. These are also part of our
society who have forgotten the pleasures of their childhood. When a child in addition to
getting education, earns his livelihood, this act of earning a livelihood is called as child
Labour. The concept of child Labour got much attention during the 1990s when
European countries announced a ban on the goods of the less-developed countries
because of child Labour.
The mortality of any society is judged by what the society does to its children. The
menace of child labor is rampantly growing around the world and the morality of the
society is at stake. Child labor is alarmingly present with its various worst forms almost
in each of the society around the globe with particular focus in developing countries.
Pakistan being a developing society has also a stigma of child labor on its forehead.
Apart from the street child labor, domestic labor by children is also not un-common.
Children engaged in domestic chores are mostly exposed to work in health hazardous
surroundings. Children engaged in domestic labor have to work at their work place for
long hours. Besides all this, they have to live from hand to mouth. Actual and factual data
was required to express the miseries and true conditions of domestic child laborers. For
this very purpose we conducted this research.
History of Child Labor can be traced in some dark realms of industrialization. But a
more detailed study of this heinous, shameful practice can reveal that child labor was
there much before industrialization in various forms like child slavery…
Earlier, child labor was not a big problem as children used to accompany their fathers in
agriculture and other jobs. The industrial revolution brought up the dispute over child
labor, as schooling became more important, and concepts of laborers and rights of
children were developed.
History of child labor states that industrial revolution saw children working Factories,
mines, and even having his own small business like selling food, flowers and doing much
unusual kind of jobs. Some children started being tourist guides, some set up a small
shop of their own and some opened up restaurants in their backyards and worked as
waiters too. Some children however chose to be actors and singers.
Children working in factories were forced to do jobs of high stress levels like assembling
boxes, polishing shoes. Many jobs had children held up in small houses doing various
jobs and were not within the reach of officials and inspectors. Most controversial forms
of child exploitation included military use of children, child prostitution.
History has witnessed many children involved in military campaigns in spite of this
activity being against the cultural morals. It was a custom for youths from the
Mediterranean basin to serve as aides, charioteers, and armor bearers to their adult
counterparts. A few examples can be found in Bible (David serving his King Saul),
Greek Mythology (Hercules and Hylas). In Greece, this practice was considered to be an
educational tradition, and the Man/Boy couple was considered to be an efficient fighting
force. Hitler Youth (Hitlerjunged or HJ) was an official organization in the Nazi Army.
During the Battle of Berlin, this youth force was a major part of the German Defenses.
In 1830s many US states enforced laws to restrict the employment of young children in
industries. But this had no effect on the rural communities as children were working in
the farms, mills and factories.
After many attempts, many states passed stringent laws, and banned child labor. In 1938,
Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act, also known as Federal Wage and
Hour Law. This became constitutional in 1941 after a declaration by the US Supreme
Court.
There were 218 million children working illegally in the eyes of international treaties, as
at the most recent formal assessment in 2004. Child labor is defined as all economic
activity for children under 12 years, any work for those aged 12-14 of sufficient hours
per week to undermine their health or education, and all "hazardous work" which could
threaten the health of children under 18.
Almost all child labor occurs in developing countries, largely in agriculture but also
including domestic service, factory production and backstreet workshops. Despite a fall
of over 10% in the figure since the last assessment in 2000, over 25% of children in sub-
Saharan Africa and 18% in Asia remain trapped within the cycle of poverty of which
child labor is part.
Poverty is the seed-bed of child labour. Poor parents send their children to work for
reasons of economic expediency, the consequent denial of education setting in motion a
mutually reinforcing cycle liable to pass down the generations. It is nevertheless naive to
attribute the problem solely to poverty; schools are often prohibitively expensive, of poor
quality or inaccessible. Cultural pressures can undermine perception of the long term
value of education, especially for girl children.
Economic setbacks will therefore regenerate the supply side of the child labour equation.
The most pervasive example lies in the evidence that the global fall in child labour is
being reversed in African countries most affected by HIV/AIDS. Households where adult
members suffer prolonged periods of illness suffer dramatic cuts in income and forced
sales of assets which are compensated by withdrawing children from school and sending
them to work. An estimated 10% of all children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Africa are
heads of households, compelled to provide for siblings.
This supply of child labour is accommodated by the demand of employers for a cheap
and flexible workforce, including small-scale enterprises whose owners exploit their own
family members. There is value to be exploited in the particular skills that children’s
dexterity can offer; for example in weaving or in tasks involving crop seeds. Girl children
are in demand for domestic service, the invisible nature of which adds to their
vulnerability to abuse. Absence from official statistics is also the fate of those girls kept
away from school in order to work for their own families in the home or on the land.
In Pakistan children aged 5-14 are above 40 million. During the last year, the Federal
Bureau of Statistics released the results of its survey funded by ILO’s IPEC (International
Program on the Elimination of Child Labour). The findings were that 3.8 million children
age group of 5-14 years are working in Pakistan out of total 40 million children in this
age group; fifty percent of these economically active children are in age group of 5 to 9
years. Even out of these 3.8 million economically active children, 2.7 million were
claimed to be working in the agriculture sector. Two million and four hundred thousand
(73%) of them were said to be boys
.
During the year 2001 and 2002 the government of Pakistan carried out a series of
consultation of tripartite partners and stakeholders (Labour Department, trade unions,
employers and NGOs) in all the provinces. The objective was to identify the occupations
and the categories of work, which may be considered as hazardous under the provisions
of ILO Convention 182.
Martin Luther as back far 1524 sent a letter to German Municipalities insisting it was
their duty to provide schools, and the duty of parents to educate their children. In
Sweden, a royal decree in 1723 instructed parents and guardians to diligently see to it
that their children applied themselves to book reading. In Europe, one country after
another; Scotland, Prussia (1817), Austria (1869), France, United Kingdom (1880) and
Italy made education compulsory. In 1872, Japan became the first non-Western country
to make elementary school education compulsory with the declaration by the Meiji Govt.
“If a child under the age of 18 is engaged in any type of domestic cores,
Despite innumerable promises by the policy and law-makers, there is still no law
regulating this sector. SPARC calls for the inclusion of child domestic labor in Pakistan’s
National List of Worst Forms of Child Labor and its notification as a banned sector for
children’s employment. SPARC has also called for a total ban on government officials
engaging children as domestic labor, as exists in India.
The exact number of children exploited in domestic labor is not known as they work
behind closed doors and it is difficult to collect data to identify the numbers of children
involved in this form of labor. However, out of 250 million working children worldwide,
more girl children are engaged in domestic service than in any other category of work.
According to one estimate, there are five million child domestic workers in South Asia.
Millions of children are already employed in this hidden sector in Pakistan and there is an
alarmingly large population of out-of-school children, particularly in rural areas, who are
vulnerable to becoming child domestic workers. Parents in rural areas or slums often
hold the misguided belief that their child will lead a much better life working in some
one else’s home than they can offer in their own home. Many children are employed
through informal “arrangements” between parents and employer; some are abandoned or
orphaned children, and many are very young children, some below 10 years old.
World Day against Child Labor in 2004 was declared by the ILO as the Domestic Child
Labor Day
Child labor is sometimes linked with stories of bonded or forced labor. In extreme cases,
children have been found imprisoned in illegal work camps or chained to the ground at
their workplace. Press attention has focused on child labor in brick kilns and carpet-
weaving workshops, as well as more sensational stories about forced prostitution and
illegal export of boys to the Gulf as camel jockeys.
The stigma of child labor is prevalent in Pakistan in its acute form. We conducted this
research work to explore the actual and factual data regarding domestic child labor in
Bahawalpur City.
Our study subject was Domestic child labor in Bahawalpur City. To find out socio-
economic conditions of domestic child laborers in Bahawalpur City was our area of
study. As the domestic child laborer is a hidden phenomenon that takes place behind the
high wall of bungalows. No estimated data is present regarding this. To find out the
respondent no sampling strategy was workable but snow ball sampling. Through snow
ball sampling links were explored and data was gathered till the point of saturation. “A
method of devising tool for data collection is called instrumentation”.
As our respondents were children engaged in domestic chores and a majority of them
were illiterate, it was not appropriate to make use of questionnaires, so we employed
interview schedule as a tool of data collection. The phase of instrumentation went
through the following steps;
Drafting
Internal criticism
External criticism
Re-drafting
Second review
Final draft
Before starting full fledge expedition of data collection, pretesting was carried out to
check the effectiveness and reliability of designed data- collection methodology. After
pre-testing data was collected from various areas of Bahawalpur City. Interviews of 100
respondents were conducted. After the collection of required data sifting of data was
carried out in order to remove useless data. Data was edited in the field as well as in the
office of our supervisor. After editing we classified whole data into several homogeneous
classes. After classification, data was presented in tables and graphs. The most final
phase of our research consists of report writing section. Report writing chapter includes
following contents;
Introduction
Body Of Report Literature Review
Study Rationale
Research Methodology
Tabular And Graphical Presentation
Case Studies
Study Findings
Conclusion
Recommendations
Annexure
Supplementary Material Bibliography
Some Worthy Words
The term “child labor” is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood,
their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.
It refers to work that:
• Is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to Children.
• Interferes with their schooling:
• By depriving them of the opportunity to attend school;
• By obliging them to leave school prematurely; or
• By requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long
and heavy work
.
In its most extreme forms, child labor involves children being enslaved, separated from
their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves
on the streets of large cities – often at a very early age. Whether or not particular forms of
“work” can be called “child labor” depends on the child’s age, the type and hours of
work performed, the conditions under which it is performed and the objectives pursued
by individual countries. The answer varies from country to country, as well as among
sectors within countries.
Reference: (A text book for university students on child labor by ILO office Geneva,
Page#16).
Enlarge Image
Child Labor
Child labor is employing children who are under aged to work as determined laws of a state. This
practice is considered to be exploitative in many countries and international organizations.
Earlier, child labor was not a big problem as children used to accompany their fathers in
agriculture and other jobs. The industrial revolution brought up the dispute over child labor, as
History of child labor states that industrial revolution saw children working Factories, mines, and
even having his own small business like selling food, flowers and doing much unusual kind of
jobs. Some children started being tourist guides, some set up a small shop of their own and some
opened up restaurants in their backyards and worked as waiters too. Some children however
chose to be actors and singers.
Children working in factories were forced to do jobs of high stress levels like assembling boxes,
polishing shoes. Many jobs had children held up in small houses doing various jobs and were not
within the reach of officials and inspectors. Most controversial forms of child exploitation included
military use of children, child prostitution.
History has witnessed many children involved in military campaigns in spite of this activity being
against the cultural morals. It was a custom for youths from the Mediterranean basin to serve as
aides, charioteers, and armor bearers to their adult counterparts. A few examples can be found in
Bible (David serving his King Saul), Greek Mythology (Hercules and Hylas). In Greece, this
practice was considered to be an educational tradition, and the Man/Boy couple was considered
to be an efficient fighting force. Hitler Youth (Hitlerjunged or HJ) was an official organization in the
Nazi Army. During the Battle of Berlin, this youth force was a major part of the German Defenses.
Although, child labor was not new to the world, it is believed that during 1780 and 1840, there
was a massive increase in child exploitation. During the Industrial revolution, it was very common
to find children working in factories. In 1788, more than 60% of workers in textile mills of England
and Scotland were children. Many laws were passed to eradicate child labor, but hardly
succeeded.
By now, many people were aware of increasing demand for educated workforce and the people
of upper class had started to rule over the poor children. The demand for educated workforce
provided all the extra reasons for children to join school. But there were parents who could not
afford to send their children to schools, and hence children volunteered to work in factories,
mines, mills etc.
In mines, children were to crawl through tiny pits to reach the coalface, and also were to operate
on the ventilation ports. In mills, this child workforce grew annually. Out-working others and long
working hours with more intensity was the dream each child had, and this would mentally
challenge them.
In 1830s many US states enforced laws to restrict the employment of young children in
industries. But this had no effect on the rural communities as children were working in the farms,
mills and factories.
Families led lives which were dominated by their employers. Their company would pay them with
overpriced goods of the company, and allocate them houses in the company owned villages. For
these amenities, the entire family would work for more than 72 hours a week, with men for heavy,
women and children for lighter works.
The companies were manipulative as well. The laws of state became stringent and regulated
work conditions, limited the child labor. But these laws were not applicable to immigrants and
now the companies would exploit the people living in slums, make them work longer hours, for a
The laws in America were always ignored, until 1904, when the National Child labor committee
was formed by concerned people. This committee was chartered by Congress in 1907. When
these people visited industries to inspect if they violated laws, young children were rushed out of
their sight. Often the owners said that these children had come to the factory or mill for paying a
visit to their mothers, or were helping their mothers.
After many attempts, many states passed stringent laws, and banned child labor. In 1938,
Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act, also known as Federal Wage and Hour Law.
This became constitutional in 1941 after a declaration by the US Supreme Court.
According to this act, no child would work more than 40 hours a week, the minimum wage would
be 40 cents per hour. Minors below 16 are not to work in those industries which are classified to
be hazardous. There were no age restrictions for children to work in non-hazardous environment.
Children were to work only outside their school hours and during vacations, but only for limited
hours.
By Jayashree Pakhare
Published: 4/20/2007
There is a large group of critics that disapproves of child labor for a range of reasons,
including the following:
• A llowing children to work means stealing their childhood from them.
• Child laborers are subject to economic exploitation because they are paid at the
lowest rates, and sometimes not at all.
• Children often work under the worst conditions, which can cause physical
deformations and long-term health care problems.
• Some child work can perpetuate poverty because child laborers, deprived of
education or healthy physical development, are likely to become adults with low
earnings prospects.
• Children often replace adult labor; employers prefer them because they are cheap
and docile.
• The widespread use of child labor may result in lower wages for all workers.
• Countries that allow child labor are able to lower their labor costs; thus they
attract investors and also benefit from “unfair trade” due to their low production
costs.(Adapted from Arat,2002)
Reference: Child Labor • A textbook for university students, by ILO office
Geneva page #18
Because children doing particular kinds of work often have similar lifestyles and
problems, child labor is often divided into categories such as children working in various
types of agriculture, in urban environments, in manufacturing, in fishing, construction,
domestic service, and so on. In this section we will give a few examples of the kinds of
activities children do, their working conditions and lifestyles, and their health and safety
status. Some of the activities mentioned will be described in more detail in Chapter 2
because they are considered “worst forms” - they are especially harmful, morally
reprehensible, or they violate the child’s freedom and human rights. Here is a description
of what some of the working children do in Brazil:
According to the Institute of Brasilia the Geographic Statistics, there are approximately
7.5 million children between the ages of 10 and 17 who work in Brazil. Of these, 2.5
million are 10-13 years of age. Children work in shoe factories and in industrial
‘homework’ with their families in Franca and São Paulo; cut cane in the interior of
Pernambuco; package salt in Ceara; work the tobacco fields in Rio Grande do Sul and in
the sugar mills in Rio de Janeiro; pick oranges in São Paulo and cotton and sisal in Bahia.
They break rocks in Bahia and take care of the charcoal ovens in Mato Grosso. The
criancas do burro (clay children) work in the brick furnaces in Piaui and sagueiros work
the market in Manaus selling vegetables. Medical assistance, work contracts, or security
equipment (Kenny, 1999) are absent.In countries in South and Southeast Asia, such as
India and Thailand, the variety of child labour is even broader. Children do all the kinds
of work mentioned above, and more. It is important to remember that throughout the
world, even when children are not listed as “working” in any household-based research,
they might nonetheless often be involved in work. They help to take care of the
household by cooking and cleaning; they take care of the family’s livestock and watch
over their younger siblings, and assume many other tasks. Lisa Dodson, an American
author, devoted a whole book to the very essential work of children as unpaid child
minders and caretakers in households in the USA - an invisible labour force without
whose help the adults would not be able to go out to work in wage-earning jobs. The
same takes place in households in many other countries (Dodson, 1999).
Reference: “A text book for university students on child labor” by ILO. Page #22-23.
“Child domestic service has been a widespread practice in Asia and may have even
worsened in recent years with growing income inequalities and rural poverty. Children in
domestic service, consisting largely of young girls, perform a wide variety of tasks
traditionally done by women in the household, such as looking after children, preparing
food, house cleaning, washing and ironing, and caring for the sick. These young women
make an important economic contribution as they free their parents or employers,
especially women, to pursue more remunerative employment in the national workforce.
Ironically, the value of their contribution remains unrecognized and overlooked. In fact,
even though children in domestic service are likely to be among the most vulnerable and
We are still learning about situations in which children work and what this means.
Research is constantly being carried out, in a variety of ways and from various
perspectives, and our knowledge is increasing.
What have we learned so far about child labour in all the activities we have described
above and so many others? Here is a very brief overview, which mainly concerns the
developing world;
Payment for work activities is seldom guaranteed, and when payment is received it is
often very little.
• Children experience varying health and safety conditions, working at home, in the
informal sector, and in settings that often do not conform to the existing
regulations and laws.
• Each activity where children may be found working has its own socio-cultural
context and economic framework, making treatment of these issues more
difficult.
• The relationship between child labour and poverty (i.e. the more poverty the more
child labour, and vice versa) is complex.
• Working children face a variety of health problems and complications directly
and indirectly related to their working conditions.
• Child labour adversely affects the education of many children.
• Other factors that increasingly contribute to child labour include large families
with numerous children, the joint processes of economic development and
modernization, increases in population movement (migration), and HIV/AIDS,
orphans.
• Differences often exist in the work girls and boys do, as well as in the types of
problems they face.
• Many kinds of work especially that done by girls, pave the way for sexual abuse.
Reference:”A text book for university students on child labor” by ILO, Page # 30-31.
In 1989, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child
(CRC) within which Article 32 asserts the right that children should not be engaged in
work deemed to be "hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful
to the child's health". Global political initiatives to respect these rights, together with the
production of internationally recognized statistics, are coordinated by the International
Labour Organization (ILO) which has allied its mission with the cause. For example, the
ILO aims to achieve by 2016 the objective of its 1999 Convention 182 for the
Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, encouraging countries to have time
bound plans in place by 2008.
Countries ratifying these conventions are committed to providing laws which enforce the
provisions. Similar rights to children's education backed by laws serve to reinforce child
labour legislation. Every full-time student is one less full-time child worker.
Unfortunately, more than 10 countries have still not ratified the ILO convention, notably
India where child labour remains stubbornly widespread. India government estimates
concede the existence of over 12 million child labourers but civil society organizations
put the figure at over 100 million. A major review published by the ILO in 2007 says of
the 2016 global objective that “it is clear that this ambitious target will not be achieved
by business as usual”, urging the worldwide movement to “re-energize” itself.
Although almost every country has laws prohibiting the employment of children below a
certain age, legislation too often fails to close the door on child labour. For example, it
may exempt certain sectors - often the very sectors where the highest numbers of
working children are found - or its penalties for violating child labour laws are
inadequate. And probably the most common obstacle to adequate legal protection for
children is the fact that legislation is not enforced. For example, in 2006 India
strengthened its laws by extending the definition of hazardous work to include domestic
labour and catering establishments but there is virtually no evidence of enforcement.
Convention 182 is particularly weak on the special vulnerability of girl children. The
worst form of exploitation of girls is being fought in part by extra-territorial laws that
permit prosecution of citizens who sexually abuse children in another country. For
example nationals from many European countries and the US can now be charged at
home for engaging a child prostitute in Thailand.
The integration of child labour concerns into national development strategies, backed by
effective legislation, is therefore the preferred route to a lasting solution. Reduction of
chronic poverty through broad-based economic and social development will create the
platform for fundamental change in cultural attitudes towards children.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) missed the opportunity to drive forward
this strategy of mainstreaming child labour within development plans. Targets and
indicators within the MDG framework make no reference to the subject of child labour
which is therefore less likely to feature in national Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers
that shape governments' policies. Critics argue that the persistence of child labour could
undermine progress towards Goals for education, HIVAIDS and gender equality.
Compounding the faultiness, MDG indicators for school enrolment aim for a total of 5
years of education, far less than implied by child labour conventions.
Study Rationale
The mortality of any society is judged by what the society does to its children. The
menace of child labor is rampantly growing around the world and the morality of the
society is at stake. Child labor is alarmingly present with its various worst forms almost
in each of the society around the globe with particular focus in developing countries.
Pakistan being a developing society has also a stigma of child labor on its forehead.
Apart from the street child labor, domestic labor by children is also not un-common.
According to (statistics) official figures there are about 40 million child laborers in
Pakistan between the ages of 5-14. Out of which 3.3 millions are engaged in domestic
child labor. Out of these 3.8 millions, a majority of 2.4 million (73%) are boys and the
remaining 0.9 million (27%) are girls. Almost more than half of the child workers which
approximately states the figures of 1.94 million or 58.6% are working in Punjab.
Bahawalpur once the house of the great Abbasi dynasty, having much taste of royal
living style. In the city people have the tendency to hire the children for performing
domestic labor chores. A large number of children work on permanent bases, this type is
called “bonded labor”. People either belongs to the upper class or low class have a
remarkable ratio of this tendency. Especially landlords are in habit to hire children of the
tenants.
Children engaged in domestic chores are mostly exposed to work in health hazardous
surroundings. Children engaged in domestic labor have to work at their work place for
long hours. Besides all this, they have to live from hand to mouth. Actual and factual data
was required to express the miseries and true conditions of domestic child laborers. For
this very purpose we conducted this research.
Methodology
1. Topic statement:
2. Objectives:
4. Human universe
As the domestic child laborer is a hidden phenomenon that takes place behind the
high wall of bungalows. No estimated data is present regarding this. To find out the
respondent no sampling strategy was workable but snow ball sampling. Through
snow ball sampling links were explored and data was gathered till the point of
saturation.
6. Instrumentation
7. Pre-testing
Before starting full fledge expedition of data collection, pretesting was carried out to
check the effectiveness and reliability of designed data- collection methodology. Pre-
testing provided us the basis to evaluate the accuracy and effectiveness of the tool.
On the basis of findings of the pre-testing we made necessary amendments in the
interview schedule to a degree of required accuracy.
8. Data collection
After pretesting data was collected from various areas of Bahawalpur city. Interviews of
100 respondents were conducted. For the sake of faster and smooth working we further
divided our group into 3 sub-groups.
9. Data Sifting
After the collection of required data sifting of data was carried out in order to
remove useless data. In short data sifting refers to sift relevant and required data out of
useless data.
Introduction
Acknowledgement
Study abstracts
Methodology
Review of the literature
Tables and graphs
Study findings
Conclusion
Appendix
Bibliography
Age
The above drawn table is about the age distribution of domestic children. In accordance
with the figures given in the table 10% were in the age group of 4-8 years, 50% of
domestic children were in the age of 9-13 years and 40% were in the age group of 14-18
years.
Age
60
50
50
40
40
frequency
30
20
10
10
0
4-8 years 9-13 years 14-18 years
Gender Ratio
The above table shows the gender distribution of respondents. According to given
figures, in age group of 4-8 years there were 10 respondents (2 males and 8 females), in
age group 9-13 years there were 50 respondents (m =21 and f =29), while in age group of
14-18 there were 40 respondents ( m =19 and f =21).
Gender Ratio
30 29
25
21 21
20 19
5 2
0
4-8 years 9-13 years 14-18 years
Cast Distribution
The above drawn table throws light on cast distribution of the respondents. In accordance
with the table values, 22% respondents were belonging to Bahatti cast,7% were
Ariyens,6% were Balooch,5% Yousaf Zai,7% Khokher,5% Seyal,6% Jatt,5% Matam,and
37% were belonging to miscellaneous casts.
Cast distribution
40 37
35
30 Yousaf zai
25 Khokher
frequency 20 Seyal
15 Jatt
10 7 6 Matam
5 5 5
5 Miscellaneous
0
1
casts
Language
Name of language frequency Percentage
Saraiki 75 75
Punjabi 15 15
Urdu 4 4
Miscellaneous 6 6
Grand total 100 100%
The above mentioned figures in the table show the lingual distribution of the
respondents. Accordance to the values 75% respondents were Saraiyki,15% were
Punjabi,4% Urdu, 6% were from miscellaneous languages.
Language
75
80
70
60
50 Saraiyki
frequency 40 Punjabi
30 Urdu
15
20 Miscellaneous
4 6
10
0
Educational Status
The above drawn table shows the respondents educational status. Accordance to the
table values, 67% of the total respondents were illiterate, 32% were primary pass, and
only 01% of the total respondents were middle pass.
Educational status
80
70
67
60
percentage
50
40
30 32
20
10
0 1
Illiterate Primary Middle
Work Length
The table drew above mentions values about the working since. 14% respondents were
working from the last 06 months, 26% were working since 01 year,35% were working
since 2-3 years,20%were working from 4-7 years, and only 5% were working since seven
years.
working since
40
35
30
percentage
25
20
15
10
5
0
6 1 year 2-3 4-7 More
months years years than 7
years
working period
Family Size
The above table represents the total no. of respondent’s family members. 68%
respondents had 4-8 family members, 30% of respondents had 9-13 members and just
2% of them had 14-18 members.
Family size
80
70
60
percentage
50
40 Series1
30
20
10
0
4 to 8 9-13 14-18
members members members
members
No. of Siblings
The above table shows the no. of siblings of respondent’s. According to given fogures,
41% of respondents had 1-5 siblings, 57% had 6-10 siblings and only 2% respondents
had 11-15 siblings.
No. of siblings
60
50
percentage
40
30 Series1
20
10
0
1-5 siblings 6-10 siblings 11-15 siblings
Siblings
Birth Order
The above table is about the respondent’s birth order. According to which 22% of
respondents were eldest among siblings, 68% of respondents were in middle amongst
siblings and 10% were the youngest amongst siblings.
Birth order
80
60
percentage
40
20
0
Elder Middle youngest
order
The above table donates the father of the respondents, whether they are alive or not. The
fathers of 83% of the respondents were alive and the fathers of 17% were not alive.
No
17%
The above table is about the mother of the respondents, whether they are alive or not.
The mothers of 94% of the respondents were alive while the mothers of 06% were not
alive.
6%
94% 6% Yes
No
Father’s Education
The table is about the educational status of the respondent’s father. According to the
figures 80% of the respondent’s fathers were illiterate, 9% were primary pass,8% were
middle pass while just 3% were middle above literate.
Father's education
Above Middle 3
Middle 8
Primary 9
Illiterate 80
0 20 40 60 80
frequency
The table depicts the educational status of the respondent’s mother. According to the
figures 92% of the respondent’s mothers were illiterate, 5% were primary pass, 3% were
middle pass while just 0% was middle above literate.
Mothers's Education
100
80
60
percentage 40
20
0
S1
Illiterate
Middle
Primary
Middle
Above
educational level
Father’s Occupation
The above table mentions occupational status of the father of the respondents. 3% of the
respondent’s fathers were Govt.employee, 46% of fathers were labor,20% had their own
business,11% were farmers while 20 of them did not do any work.
Father's Occupation
46
20 20
11
3
Govt. Own
Labor Farmer No work
employe business
Series1 3 46 20 11 20
Mother’s Status
The above table contains informations regarding mother, status of the respondents. 44%
of the respondent’s mothers were house wife,36% of mothers were engaged in domestic
work,6% were laborer ,5% used to earn via tailoring,4% did miscellaneous works while
5% respondent’s mothers were not alive.
Mother's Status
50
percentage
44
40
36
30
20
10
6 5 5 4
0
rk
ife
r
e
r
he
o
liv
rin
bo
w
ot
ta
ilo
La
e
ic
us
ny
o
Ta
t
es
N
o
A
H
m
o
status
D
Working Siblings
The table carries figures about respondent’s siblings doing work. According to the
figures, 87% of the respondent’s siblings were doing work and just 13% siblings of the
respondents were not doing any work.
Yes
No
Yes
87%
The table mentions the nature of work of the siblings of the respondents. 37% siblings of
the respondents were had been doing labor work, 49% were doing domestic work and
14% did not do any work at all.
50 Domestic
work, 49
40 Labor , 37
30
20
No work,
10 14
0
S1
Labor
Domestic
No work
work
work nature
This table consists of values about total no. of bread earners in respondent’s family. 44%
of the respondents had 1-3 bread earners in their family, 45% respondents claimed that
there were 4-6 bread earners in their family. Just 11% had 7-10% bread earners in their
family.
bread earners
earning members
7-10 members 11
4-6 members 45
1-3 members 44
0 10 20 30 40 50
percentage
The table puts on light the total monthly income of respondent’s family. Total monthly
income of 13% families of respondents had 2000-3000 total monthly income, 37% had
4000-5000 total monthly income, 23% had 6000-7000 monthly income and 27% had
8000-9000 total monthly income.
40
37
35
30
percentages
27
25
23
20
15
13
10
5
0
2000-3000 4000-5000 6000-7000 8000-9000
income in thousands
Areas of expenditures
Areas 01 02 03 04 05 frequenc percentage
y
Food 63 33 04 100 63%
Health 27 37 29 06 01 100 27%
Educatio 04 14 13 51 18 100 4%
n
Family 03 12 49 27 09 100 3%
functions
Rent of 03 03 01 00 07 13 3%
house
Grand 100%
total
This table mentions areas of expenditures of respondent’s family. 63% families of the
respondents claimed food as a major area of expenditures,27% claimed health as a major
area of expenditure,4% claimed education,03% family functions and 3% claimed rent of
house as a major area of expenditure.
Areas of expenditures
70
60
percentage
50
40
30 63
20
27
10
0 4 3 3
Food Health Education Family Rent of
functions house
areas
Type Of Family
Type of family frequency Percentage
Nuclear 61 61
joint 39 39
Grand total 100 100%
This table carries data about type of family of the respondent.61% of the respondents
were living in nuclear family whereas 39% respondents were living in joint family
system.
Type of family
joint, 39
Nuclear
Nuclear , joint
61
Residential Background
This table shows figures about the residential backgrounds of the respondents. Figures
show that 70% of the respondents were from rural backgrounds and just 30%
respondents were from urban backgrounds.
Residential background
urban, 30
Rural
urban
Rural, 70
Nature of residence
This table shows figures about the nature of residence of the respondents.13% of the
respondents lived in rented house,68% lived in their own houses,10% lived with the
relatives, and just 9% lived with the owners.
Nature of residence
100% 9
90% 10
80%
70%
60%
percentage 50% 68
40%
30%
20%
10% 13
0%
1
Owner’s house
residence Relatives house
nature Own
Rented
The above drawn table tells about the type of marriage of respondent’s father.15% of
respondent’s father were polygamous while 85% respondent’s fathers were
monogamous.
father marriages
Polygamous
15%
Polygamous
Monogamous
Monogamou
s
85%
The table throws light on Nature and type of respondent’s labor. 14% were indulged in
bonded whereas 86% were indulged in un-bonded labor.
90
80
70
60
50 86
percentage
40
30
20
10 14
0
Bonded Un-bonded
The above drawn table carries figures about nature of stay of the respondent. The nature
of stay of 70% respondents was residential and 30% were from non-residential nature of
stay.
Nature of stay
80
Residential,
70
70
percentage
60
50
40 Non-
30 residential,
20 30
10
0
Residential Non-residential
Nature Of Accommodation
The table bears information about the nature of accommodation. 38.57% respondents had
separate accommodation and 61.43 had accommodation with their owners.
38.57
Separate
With owner
61.43
*Multiple responses
The table values mention type of tasks performed by respondents. 34 respondents had to
perform kitchen work, 45 respondents had to do sweeping task, 24 respondents claimed
that they had to do ironing, 11 respondents had to do laundry work, 22 respondents had
to do baby sitting, 33 respondents had to perform janitorial work, 23 respondents had to
do Khidmat of their employer and 35 respondents claimed to be performing all of the
above mention tasks.
25
19.82
20
14.97
15
Percentages
The above table shows values about tasks performed easily by the respondents. 17%
respondents performed kitchen work easily, 25% respondents performed sweeping tasks
easily, 12% performed ironing, 2% performed laundry work, 18% performed baby
sitting, 11% performed janitorial work, 1% performed khidmat and 14% respondents
claimed to work all the tasks easily.
Tasksperformedeasily
30
25
25 Kitchenwork
percentage
Sweeping
20 18 Ironing
17
14 Laundrywork
15
12 Babysitting
11
10 Janitorial work
Khidmat
5 All above
2
1
0
1
Tasks
This table carries figures about tasks which respondents usually wished to escape.18%
respondents used to escape from kitchen work,27% from sweeping,13% from
ironing,13% from laundry wor,12% from baby sitting,12%jainitorial work,3% Khidmat,
and 2% respondents usually wished to escape from all type of tasks mentioned above.
Tasksescapedfrom
30
27
percentage
25
20
18
15
13 13 12 12
10
5
3 2
rk
rk
rk
0
g
e
o
t
n
o
g
in
v
w
ti
w
in
o
m
p
it
l
ry
b
n
a
e
n
id
a
o
ri
e
e
h
Ir
o
w
h
ll
n
K
it
A
c
u
S
n
it
a
K
Tasks
This table puts on light the figures about the working length of the respondents.27% of
the respondents had to work 8hrs a day, 20% had to work 10 hrs a day, 16% had to work
12hrs a day, while 37% had to do work round the clock.
Working duration
Assistance In Work
The above table mentions figures about assistance in work to the laborer by the
owner.79% laborers claimed that yes their owner assistance them in working while 21%
claimed that they did not get any assistance by their owner.
Assistance in work
No
21%
Yes
No
Yes
79%
The above table bears values about how often the respondents were assisted in their
work.33% were assisted most often,46% were assisted oftenly,11% were assisted rarely
and just 10% claimed that they did not get any assistance ever.
Extent of assisstance
10
100% 11
No
80% Rarely
46
60% Often
Most often
40%
33
20%
0%
The table throws light on the figures that if any extra work respondents had to do beyond
their assigned trasks.33% claimed that they had to do extra work beyond their assigned
tasks whereas 67% claimed they did not had to do any other extra work beyond their
assigned tasks.
No
67%
Yes
Yes Other
No
33% 67%
Mode of payment
This table mentions values about respondent’s mod of salary. According to the figures
67% respondents got salary in term of cash,01% as grains,9% as food,2% in the form of
cash and grains, and 21% in the form of cash and food.
Mode of payment
80
70
67
60
50
40
Payment in Cash/month
The above table shows figures about amount received as salary.40% respondents
received 300-700 rupees per month,30% received 800-1200 per month,11.12% received
1300-1800 per month,11.12% received 1900-2200,6.66% received 2300-3000 while 1%
received 3100-4000 rupees per month.
Payment in cash/mon
45
40 40
35
30 30
25
frequency
The table carries figures about respondent’s mode of salary in term of food and grains.01
respondent out of 100 respondent sample got his salary in term of grains (10%), 9 out of
100 got food as a mode of salary.
9%
8%
7%
6%
5%
Grains, 1%
3%
Table No.38
Who collects the wages?
The above table throws light on the collector of wages.82% respondents claimed that
their parents got their wages while 18% of the respondents used to receive their salary by
themselves.
Parents
yourself
82%
This table bears values about pocket money provided to the respondents. When asked
from respondents, 48% of them answered that yes they are provided with the pocket
money, while 52% of the respondents were not provided with pocket money.
53
52
percentage
51
50
49 52
48
47 48
46
Yes No
The above table mentions figures about if respondents collect the wages they gave it to
their parents.65% gave it to their parents and 35% don’t gave them
No
35%
Yes
No
Yes
65%
87% 13%
This table mentions figures about the holidays provided to the respondents.27%
respondents were provided holydays after 0ne week, 62% were provided with holydays
monthly, and almost 11% of respondents were provided almost no holydays.
No. of holydays
70
60
50
40
frequency
30
Transportation charges
The table bears values about the behave of the owner. When asked from respondents that
whether they are satisfied with the behave of the owner or not, 55% were satisfied with
the behave of the owner whereas 27% were not satisfied with the behave, and just 18%
were answered in miscellaneous reaction.
Transportation charge
60
50
40
30
55
The above drawn table mentions figures about treatment of un-announced leave.
According to the table 13% respondents were punished in case of un-announced leave,
whereas 87% were ignored in case of un-announced leave, not even a single respondent
was fined.
80
60
percentage
40
20
0
S1
Punished
Ignored
Fined
Eid Holydays
This table puts in light the values about Eid holydays.42% respondents claimed that they
spent Eid holydays at their homes,44% respondents used to spend Eid holydays with
their owners, and just 14% respondents spent holydays at the place of their own choice.
Home
14% 14%
With owner
Own choice
42%
Recreational Activities
The above drawn table carries figures about recreational activities provided to the
respondents.83% respondents was provided with the recreational activities whereas 17%
were not provided with the recreational activities.
Recreational activities
No
17%
Yes
No
Yes
83%
The table carries values about satisfaction level of the respondents with their employed
attitude.94% were satisfied while 6% were not satisfied with their employed attitude
100 94
80
60
percentage
40
20
0 6 S1
Yes
No
This table depicts values regarding satisfaction of respondents on their current status.
55% of the respondents were satisfied with their current status while 45% were un-
satisfied on their current status.
Satisfaction on current s
No
45%
According to the above drawn table 3% respondents were not satisfied with owner’s
attitude due to his harsh attitude, and 3% were not satisfied due to excessive work.
100%
80%
60% 3% 3%
% Series1
40%
20%
0%
Harsh attitude Over work
According to the table values 55% respondents were working by their own will, 45%
were not working by their own will.
Working will
Yes, 55
no, 45
The table shows the values about whether they were forced for domestic work.23%
were do work by force and 76% of respondents were do work by compulsion and only
1% do work by their own will.
80
76
70
60
50
40
%
30
23
20
10
0 1
By force By compulsion By own will
That table shows the values that who brought the respondent for domestic work.5% were
came with their own will 78% respondents were brought here by the parents due to poor
economic status and 17% were brought here by relatives
W h o b ro u g h t h e re
80 78
60
% 40
20
5 17
0
S1
Y o u rs e lf
P a re n ts
re la tive s
These values explains that if respondents gave option to study would they quit this
job.70% were agree to get further study and 30% were not willing to get education.
Yes
No
Yes
70%
This table shows figures about the pocket money. According to figures 74% respondent
would receive pocket money while rest of the 26% did not receive pocket money
Yes
No
No
26%
Yes Other
74% 26%
This table shows the amount of pocket money receive by the respondents.17.57% of
respondents received 1-5 Rs, 45.94% received 6-10 Rs.24.32% of respondents would
receive 11-20 Rs, 12.16% children receive 21-30 Rs.
50
45.94
40
30
%
24.32
20 17.57
10 12.16
0
1-5 rupees 6-10 rupees 11-20 rupees 21-30 rupees
The above drawn table carries figures about provision of proper education.40% of
respondents were given proper education while 60% of them were not given proper
education.
No 60
Yes 40
0 20 40 60
%
*Multiple responses
This table is about the type of education provided to the respondents. A majority of 39
respondents were facilitated with the formal type of education, 23 respondents claimed
that they were getting informal education, 50 respondents were getting religious
education and just 2 respondents were getting vocational education.
40
35
30
25
20
%
35.71
15 27.85
10
16.42
5
0 1.42
Formal Informal Religious vocational
Treatment On Mistakes
This table is about reaction of owners after respondent’s mistake.60% respondents were
punished and 40% were ignored.
Ignored Punished
40% Ignored
Punished
60%
Sort of punishment
This table represent the sort of punishment.76.67% were scolded and 18.33% were
corporal while 5% were deduction in wages.
Sort of punishment
90
80 76.67
70
60
50
%
40
30
20 18.33
10
5
0
Scolded Corporal Deduction in wages
TableNo.60
These values shows that did owner support in case of disease and its treatment.95% of
respondents provided treatment facilities and just 5% did not supported.
Yes
No
Yes
95%
This table is about the opinions about child lobour.71% of respondents were not in favor
of child labor while14% were in favor and 15% of respondents don’t know .
80 71
70
60
50
40
%
30
20 14 15
10
0
Oppose Favor Don’t know
This table represents the future aims and objectives of childrens.9% of respondents
wanted social status.38% wanted economic soundness and safety while 22% wanted to
get further studies 1% wanted to learn different skills and 21% don’t gave any response
40
35
30
25
20 38
%
15
10 22 21
5 9 10
0
Social status Economics Further studies Skill earnings No response
soundness
and safety
Case Studies
M. Naveed, a 14 years old innocent child in rages, glittering eyes having dreams
for burlesque future. He was quite an infant when his father passed away. Heavy
addiction led his father to the failure of kidneys and liver functioning. Naveed was
having one elder sister, after the death of his late father his mother took the
responsibilities for the rearing and caring of her offspring. She worked whole the day
long in the homes of prestigious people to earn the bread for her kids. She was a shrinky
woman of just 32 with faded eyes and pale face. Overwhelming work, restless life,
miseries and tensions made her the patient of Tuberculosis. She brought up her children
for at least 8 years. At last she died leaving her two destitute children at the stake of
furious and beast cosmos.
At the death of his mother Naveed was in 7 th class while his elder sister was in
matric.There distant relatives took pity on them by providing them the shelter but at the
cost of little property and belongings left by his parents. Apparently -shaded Naveed was
shad less in fact. After loosing their property and belongings they were treated harshly by
their relatives. He was compelled and exposed for domestic labor. He got engaged in
domestic chores by the age of 11 years. He had been working there for the last 3 years as
a janitor. He used to work round the clock at salary as low as 1000 rupees per month. But
on e thousand was quite insufficient for him to meet even basic needs. To his fortune his
owner was a generous and pious man quite affectionate to Naveed. His owner used to
care for the meal, wearing and pocket money of Naveed. Still circumstances were
uncongenial and for him. Naveed’s sister had grown to puberty. He was worry for her
education and marriage. Although he was provided with holydays at weekly basis yet he
mostly used to utilize his holydays for bonus earning. In spite for all these miseries and
tough realities of life he was enthusiastic and full of hope. He was carrying on the
education of her sister and himself beyond the boundaries of any formal institute.
He mostly availed curricular books from scrap houses. With this enthusiasm and
firm personality he accomplished his matriculation degree while his sister was studying
in 2nd year. When I questioned him about his future aims and objectives he uttered with a
rocky passion that;
The moment he was describing and expressing his inner, his weak and pale face
turned red yet there was a glow in his thirsty soul and spark in gaze. A fluttering bird was
daring for high flight…….. Against the brutal slaps of social storm…………….!!!
For the sole purpose of supporting her family she decided to engage herself in domestic
work. Now she was living in her owner’s house as the nature of her stay was residential.
She did domestic work while her brother worked as a cobbler to earn bread for his
family. There were three bread earners in her family yet they hardly fulfilled their
household needs. Her mother was the patient of diabetes.
She took the charge to earn bread and wearing for her family. She used to leave the bed
early in the morning, after offering Fajar prayer she prepared breakfast. After serving
breakfast she washed the clothes, daily did pressing of the clothes & also cooked the
food. After lunch she had little time for rest, only for an hour and after that in the evening
she did other janitorial tasks. Thus she was living very hard life.
She wanted to spend some time for herself but she could not. She was not even provided
with time for recreational activities. Sometimes she thought and asked herself some
questions like this,
“Can I do something for my self?”
She wanted to learn embroidery and also wanted to get some education but she didn’t
have any time to learn these skills and arts.
After day long activities even at the end of the day she had to serve her owner by
massaging bodies and the like. The owner behaved very harshly with her.
Now two years have passed, she is doing work and every day when she gets up she
thinks that perhaps she may spare some time for herself but every day brings
disappointment. She is living for her family not for herself.
Nusrat lived in Tibba Bader Sher (BWP).She was 12 years old and her cast was
Mohager. Her family size was 8 and total bread earners of her family were 5.Her father
was drug addict and he didn’t support his family. Her mother did domestic work round
She did almost all types of domestic tasks but the owner brought her especially for the
sake of sweeping and baby sitting. She permanently stayed in owner’s house & did the
entire house hold works. They did not give her any type of salary rather her owner used
to say her family that he will arrange her marriage ceremony and will bear all the
expenditures. She also had to perform extra work beyond her assigned duties. She was
not satisfied with her current status. She did the work by compulsion. She wanted to
become a teacher but she could not fulfill her dream because she had no opportunity to
get education.
When someone talked with her, she felt shy as she was shy by nature. She is suffering
from inferiority complex. Most of the time she remained silent just gazing on every thing
in surprise manner.
Iqra Akbar belonged to a poor family. She was 14 years old. She was an orphan girl. Her
father died in her childhood. She had two brothers and two sisters. Before the death of
her father they lived a very happy life. But after the death of her father she started to live
with her uncle. But her uncle did not bear the expenses of her family because he was also
poor and he thought her family was burden on him so her mother started tailoring and
brother started work in the workshop. She also did the domestic work. As she and her
family started struggle for living and in this struggle she felt life was not a bed of roses.
They did their best efforts but they hardly earned Rs.3000 only. That was not sufficient
for her family.
With the morning prayer her every day work routine started. After offering prayer she
prepared tea for her owner then prepared the breakfast and served to all. After that she
did all the household work. She didn’t like the kitchen work especially in summer. She
wanted to get education but it was not possible for her. She always prayed to Allah may
Allah give her opportunity to get education. When she saw the school going children she
felt very sad. She also liked to play with dolls but she did not have enough time to play.
When all the members of the owner’s family came back she served the meal. After that
she did other household works. In the evening again her work started and continued till
night.
Iqra always had a smile on her face but I know she was not as happy as she looked .she
took care of her siblings just like mother and always prayed for them.
She also wanted to live as she would live with her father where there were no restrictions
and she lived as she wanted.
Findings
• 50% of respondents were in age group of between 9-13 years and 40% were
between the ages of 14-18 years. (Table # 01)
• 50% of the respondents were laying in the age group of 9-13 years. (Table # 02)
• 22% of respondents belonged to Bhatti cast. (Table #0 3)
• 75% of respondents were fund to be saraiki speaking. ‘(Table # 04)
• 32% of the respondents were primary pass while rests of the respondent were
illiterate. (Table # 05)
• 35% of the respondents were found to be engaged in domestic labor for the last 2-
3 years and 20% were working as a domestic labor for the last 4-7 years.(Table #
06)
• Family size of 68% of the respondents was 4-8 members. (Table #0 7)
• 57% respondents were having 6-10 siblings. (Table # 08)
• By birth 68% of respondents fell into middle order. (Table # 09)
• Fathers of 83% of the respondents were alive while rests of the respondents were
orphan. (Table #10)
• Mothers of 94% respondents were alive. (Table #11)
• 80% of the respondent’s fathers were found to be illiterate. (Table no # 12)
• Mother of 92% of the respondents was illiterate. (Table #13)
• By occupation father of 46% respondents were involved in the occupation of
manual work. (Table #14)
• Mothers of 36% respondents were engaged in domestic work and 44% of mothers
were found to be house wives. (Table #15)
• Siblings of 87% of the respondents were engaged in domestic labor or any other
type of labor.(Table #17)
• Siblings of 49% of the respondents were engaged in domestic labor (Table #18)
• 45% respondents were having 4-6 members as bread earners and 11% of
respondents were having 7-10 members as bread earners in their families. (Table
#19)
• A total monthly income 37% family of the respondents was found to be ranging
from 4000-5000. (Table #20)
• In the families of 63% respondents, food was found to be as a major area of
family expenditure. (Table #21)
• 61% of the respondents were belonging to the nuclear type of family. (Table #22)
• 70% of respondents were from rural background. (Table #23)
• 68% of the respondents were having accommodation in their own residences
while 13% of respondents had to accommodate in rented house. (Table #24)
• Fathers of 85% of the respondents were monogamous. (Table #25)
• 86% respondents were engaged in un-bonded type of labor. (Table #26)
• Nature of stay of 70% respondents was residential. (Table #27)
• 43% of the respondents were having accommodation with their owner. (Table
#28)
It is alarming that working as servant inside the home amongst children does not
end after few months or even after few years rather it continues for long years wasting
tender age in mere working. Study findings make one belief that this scene of domestic
child labor comes out of acute poverty. Children falling in the middle order among
sibling tend to prefer domestic labor over education. It was also found that families from
rural and illiterate background have high tendency to put their children in labor. Despite
of un-bonded type of labor majority of the children have to serve the employer family
almost round the clock, but intermittently. Moreover, those who come to their work place
on daily bases are facilitated with transportation charges.
Domestic laborers always escape from kitchen and sweeping work. So far as the
wages are concerned almost all of them are under paid in contrast with market trends and
sky rocketing inflation. The smallest proportion of their wages goes to those who earn it.
Normally children are given a day or two as off from working, once or twice in month.
The treatment of the families is normally positive whereby children are cared about in
terms of food, residence, rest, holydays, pocket money and the like. Discrimination on
the part of employers toward the domestic laborers was rarely found. No where the
domestically working children were found to be blaming and complaining regarding the
attitude of served family-an encouraging factor. A positive change was seen that a pretty
number of children are given opportunity to seek both religious and secular education.
The living conditions of the children at the work place were found quite better than that
of the conditions of their parent’s home. This was the reason most of the children were
happy to stay at their work place.
1) Work should be taken according to the age and capacity of domestic child
laborer.
3) The wages of domestic child laborers should be in accordance with the market
trends so that they may cope with continuously increasing inflation.
4) Along with the work, basics rights of education, recreation and health care must
be ensured by the employer.
6) Both visual and print media should raise awareness among the masses regarding
their responsibilities towards child rights.
Annexure
10-No. of siblings:
________________________________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________
a) Yes b) No
____________________________________________
• Food
• Rent of house
• Education
• Health
• Social function
________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________
33- Any other extra work you have to do beyond your assigned duties.
a) Yes b) No
a) Yes b) No
35.2- in case you collect the wages, do you give it to your parents
a) Yes b) No
a) Yes b) No
a) Weekly b) monthly
36.2- In case you visit your home, are you provided with transportation charges?
39- You are provided with recreational opportunities like TV and play timing?
a) Yes b) No
a) Yes b) No
_________________________________________________________________
44- If you are given option to study would you quit this job?
a) Yes b) No
Bibliography
1) International Labor Office Geneva, (2004) “Child Labor” A text book for university
students, International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor.
5) Earl Babbie, 4th Edition, “The Practice of Research” Wordsworth Publishing Co.
Belmont California.
6) Dooly David, 2007, “Social Research Method” Edition 4th, University of California.
8) N.Nasira Rabi and Sarma R.P (2006) “Research Method and Analysis” Discovery
Publishing House New Dehli.
9) Tiwari N.K and Shadilya (2006) “Operations Research Practice” Research Prentice
Hall Of India.
10) Kumar, Ranjit (2006) Research Methodology a Step-By-Step Guide for Beginners
second edition. Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt.Ltd.
11) Neuman, W.Lawrence (2006) Social Research Methods (Qualitative and Quantitative
Approach) University of Wisconsin at Whitewater.
Internet Links
10) www.google.com
11) www.ask.com
12) www.wikipedia.com
Author
The End