Another Tragedy Born from COVID-19... Indian Children Working 12 Hours a Day as Schools Close

Over 10 Million Indian Children Estimated to Be Engaged in Labor
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[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis prolongs in India, 'child labor exploitation' is emerging as another social issue.

According to the Associated Press on the 13th, India's child rights protection organization 'Bachpan Bachao Andolan' (BBA) reported, "An unprecedented situation regarding child rights is unfolding due to the COVID-19 crisis."

The organization stated, "Since the COVID-19 outbreak in March this year, schools have closed and parents have lost jobs, leading to children being sold as cheap labor."

Founded by Kailash Satyarthi, the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, the organization pointed out, "Due to COVID-19, monitoring of child labor exploitation and tracking of human trafficking have not been active," adding, "Decades of efforts to protect child rights are regressing."

Last fall, police raided an illegal shoe factory in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, rescuing about 10 child laborers aged 10 to 17.

The rescue occurred after a passerby heard a child crying and being beaten inside the factory and reported it to the police. Upon investigation, it was revealed that the children worked 12 to 14 hours a day in cramped spaces, gluing shoe insoles with adhesive, and were frequently beaten.

Indian Child Making Bricks
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'Bachpan Bachao Andolan' rescued 1,197 children across India from April to September this year alone. This number is double the 613 children rescued during the same period last year.

Another Indian child relief organization, 'Childline,' also received 192,000 emergency calls from March to August this year, most of which involved child labor exploitation cases.

A local child rights activist expressed concern, saying, "As the COVID-19 crisis prolongs and poverty increases in rural areas, traffickers are distributing free food and luring parents by promising city jobs for their children."

In India, children under 14 years old are prohibited from any labor except working in family businesses or farms. However, UNICEF estimates that 10 million Indian children are involved in some form of labor.

In July, the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs issued an urgent directive to all states to establish anti-human trafficking organizations to prevent the increase of child labor exploitation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.