Child labour in Pakistan

[1] The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimated that in the 1990s, 11 million children were working in the country, half of whom were under age ten.

The prevalence of poverty in the country has compelled children to engage in labor, as it has become necessary for their families to meet their desired household income level, enabling them to afford basic necessities like butter and bread.

[4] Child labour in Pakistan is perhaps most rampant in the city of Multan, which is an important production centre for export goods.

[8] Poverty levels appear to necessitate that children work in order to allow families to reach their target take-home pay.

[11] Pakistan ranks among the countries with the lowest literacy rates, and in recent years, child labor has seen a disturbing rise.

The primary cause for the surge in child labor is the escalating poverty levels, with low literacy rates also playing a significant role in exacerbating this issue.

Some 11 million children, aged four to fourteen, keep the country's factories operating, often working in brutal and squalid conditions.

These include the making of bricks, carpets, glass bangles, leather and surgical instruments, as well as coal mining.

[19] Save the Children has also worked on projects with the British Secretary of State for International Development to phase out child labour in Sialkot.

The £750,000 donated by Britain will be spent on education and training, and also on setting up credit and savings schemes, in an attempt to provide alternatives to bonded labour.

[24] In January 2019, Uzma Bibi, a 16-year-old maid was allegedly tortured and murdered by her employer in Lahore for alledgedly stealing a piece of meat.

[26] A 10-year-old domestic worker, Fatima Furiro, was alledgedly raped, tortured, and murdered by her employer, Asad Ali Shah Jeelani.