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Global
march against child labour - Zimbabwe initiative 2007
New
Hope Zimbabwe
January 01, 2008
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Background
of Child Labour
Child
labour has been in existence for millions of years but only began
to be seriously questioned when industrialization and urbanization
fundamentally changed children's work relationships and multiplied
the dangers. Although some governments began to intervene in the
nineteenth century to protect children from the worst excesses of
the factory system and the most dangerous activities, the major
change came when governments' commitment to education increased
as part of their development into modern nations. Even then, the
move against child labour was not without challenge. Major arguments
against it were that education would make poor children unsuitable
for the mundane work that the society required, that child labour
was necessary for the welfare of poor families . . . .as well as
for certain industries if they were to remain competitive ,that
child labour laws would be impossible to enforce because of the
number of enterprises involved, that numerous tasks could only be
done by children, and finally that it was not the role of the state
to interfere with parental wishes concerning what was best for their
children.
Child
Labour in Zimbabwe
The Herald (Harare) reported on June 27, 2007, that Zimbabwe is
afflicted by child labour and the issues have also been compounded
by the HIV/AIDS scourge and the increasing number of child headed
families.With
an estimated 37.2 million adults living with HIV around the world,
large numbers of children have family members that are living with
HIV, or who have died of AIDS. These children may themselves experience
the discrimination that is often associated with HIV. They may also
have to care for a sick parent or relative, and may have to give
up school to become the principle wage-earner for the family. When
adults fall sick, food still needs to be provided -- and the
burden of earning money usually falls on the oldest child.
An estimated 218 million children aged 5-17 are engaged in child
labour, excluding child domestic labour. Some 126 million of these
children are believed to be engaged in hazardous situations or conditions,
such as working in mines, working with chemicals and pesticides
in agriculture or working with dangerous machinery. They are everywhere
but invisible, toiling as domestic servants in homes, labouring
behind the walls of workshops, hidden from view in plantations.
(UNICEF).
After having
realised the trauma in which children go through in the country,
region and the world due to forced labour as well as exploitation,
New Hope Foundation a Zimbabwean Civic Organisation in collaboration
with the Global March Against Child Labour Organisation of India
organized an awareness campaign on the existence and effects of
child labour in Zimbabwe, Africa and the world at large. This awareness
campaign was scheduled for December 2007 starting on the 1st and
ending on the 31st of December 2007.
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