Child Marriage & Child Labour Are Actually More Similiar Than You Think!

Here is an interesting take on possible similarities between child marriage and child labour. These crimes against children still prevailing in our society, are more similiar than you would think. 

Children are precious gifts from God. They are born to enjoy and cherish the beauty of their future. We don’t have the right to harm or harass them. But today, what is happening? They are being brutally harassed by the society in the form of child labour and child marriage.

Actually, child marriage itself is child labour. Small children are exploited by the society in a pathetic manner. It did not start yesterday or today; these customs and cultures have been practiced since long back. The main reason behind child marriage and child labour is poverty. People were brought up in such a way as to think that our children must follow the same route as ours. Poverty made them illiterates. They don’t have any wealth to buy their daily necessities. Then how can such people make their children safe?

Child marriage is the act of children being married before the age of 18. The girls get affected more due to such customs. The common effects are early pregnancy, maternal deaths and even the babies may suffer from serious problems during birth. Children are being seriously deprived of their education and personal growth. The age between 10-20 is their time to learn. They should have freedom to choose their profession and the future. In spite of all this, if we still oppress children with such crimes, it really affects their body and mind.

In the same way, child labour is also a serious crime. The history of child labour mostly started during the British rule. At the time, due to a scarcity of labour, people made their own children follow their path and denied them all their rights. Also, the employers thought children could be give lower wages.

Such practices are being continued until now. Since those times, the practice of bonded labour has continued, where all the members of the family were bound to work in order to pay off their debt.

Many legislations have prohibited child labour. But still, it persists in remote areas. They are forced to do work in agriculture, factories, mining, and in some trade and retail services. They grow up in terrible circumstances with all the hazardous activities. If children mirror their parents’ circumstances and continue the practice, then there is no security.

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The common cause for child marriage and child labour are parents themselves. When we take the case of child marriage, most parents have this belief that it offers protection for their children at an early age. They are scared of the bride price and other traditions. They think if their children are not married then they have to face serious attacks from the society. These kind of crimes are done due to religious and social pressure from various cultures.

The most important outcome of both these issues is:

1. Restriction of their freedom as children.
2. Lack of education due to early marriage and child labour
3. Violation of their rights to participate in various community activities.
4. Serious complications due to high risk pregnancy
5. Inhumane labour violations

It is very important to save our children from these cruel activities. We as humans must raise our voice against such violence in our society. We need to promise ourselves that we would never encourage such customs and sufferings of growing children. Let us all work together to protest against such brutal crimes on children.

Image via Pixabay

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