Increasing child labor in Bangladesh has become a serious social challenge, increasing cases of exploitation and abuse at workplace have raised concerns.

New Delhi . The continuous increase in cases of child labor and related exploitation in Bangladesh is becoming a matter of concern. Recent government helpline data and various social studies indicate that a large number of children are still forced to work in harsh conditions in unsafe workplaces. Children’s rights organizations say the situation is becoming more serious than before due to economic challenges and lack of effective monitoring.

According to available data, 101 complaints related to child exploitation were registered on the government child support helpline 1098 between January and June 10 this year. Till May, 33 complaints related to abuse and exploitation of child laborers at workplaces were received on the emergency helpline 999. These cases have raised new concerns about child protection systems and monitoring of workplaces.

A survey conducted on children doing domestic work in the capital Dhaka revealed that almost half of the children face some form of exploitation. At the same time, excessive workload was also found on a large number of children. Experts believe that the situation of children engaged in domestic work is particularly challenging because such workplaces are difficult to monitor regularly.

Organizations working for children’s rights say that children employed in hotels, restaurants, transport, brick kilns and other unorganized sectors have to work for long hours. In many cases, they have to face physical and mental torture, while some children do not even get the prescribed wages. According to social workers, children from families with weak economic conditions are being affected the most.

Social organizations also say that child laborers are often hired because they can be easily controlled and are not in a position to raise their voice for their rights. Due to limited monitoring system in unorganized sectors, timely detection of such cases and taking effective action also remains challenging.

Organizations working for the rights of domestic workers have also expressed concern over the many cases of child abuse. He says that over the years the situation has not improved as expected and even today young children are facing exploitation while engaged in domestic work. In many cases, serious complaints like mental, physical and sexual harassment have also been reported.

According to recent surveys, the number of children engaged in child labor has increased significantly in Bangladesh in the last six years. Statistics show that compared to the year 2019, more children have now become part of the workforce. Experts believe that due to economic difficulties, rising inflation and reduction in family income, many children are having to leave studies and go for employment.

Child rights experts say that merely making laws will not be enough to deal with the problem of child labour. For this, it is necessary to provide easy access to education, financial assistance to poor families, expansion of social security schemes and developing effective monitoring system in unorganized sectors. He believes that only through joint efforts of government, social organizations and communities, children can be provided a safe environment and a better future.