1. Child Labor in Asia
The Asia-Pacific
region has the
largest number of
child workers in
the 5-14 age
group in the world
– some 127
million, about 60%
of working children
worldwide.
~ ILO Report on Labour and Social
Trends in Asia and the Pacific, 2005

2. Child Labor in South Asia

4. What is "CHILD LABOR"?
There is no universally
accepted definition of
“child labor.”
"Child labor" is, generally
speaking, work for
children that harms them
or exploits them in some
way (physically, mentally,
morally, or by blocking
access to education).
Garbage Picker, India 1993

5. Is all work is bad for
children?
Some child workers
themselves think that illegal
work should not be considered
in the definition of "child labor."
The reason: These child
workers would like to be
respected for their legal work,
because they feel they have
no other choice but to work.
On the outskirts of Dhaka, children heat and
mix rubber in a barrel at a balloon factory.

6. A boy works in a tea stall in a
small village in Nepal. Nepal is
one of the world's poorest
countries, forcing huge numbers
of children to do hard labor. For a
majority of children in Nepal,
education is a luxury.
A young Pakistani girl carries a load of wool
down a street in a poor section of Peshawar.
Pakistan has laws that limit child labor, but
the laws are often ignored. An estimated 11
million children work in Pakistan's factories.

7. A young Burmese boy climbs
on top of piles of teak wood in
a government-run lumberyard
in Pyin Ma Bin. The boy's job is
to label the teak wood. The
wood is common in Myanmar
and is in high demand in Japan
and most of Asia.
Sakina, 9, and Javed, 6, work
on a carpet loom at a small
workshop in Kabul.
Afghanistan's deep poverty
forces many children to work in
adult jobs.

8. This 9-year-old girl used to work
long hours weaving rugs in a
carpet factory. Today, she is
enrolled in a Rugmark school in
India. Rugmark is an organization
working to end child labor and
provide educational opportunities
for children. For child laborers all
over the world, education is the
ticket to a better future.

9. Circus performers, India 1995
Children work long hours, practice
dangerous acts, and only the best
and those who manage to survive
continue their lives as performers.
A circus may have dozens of small
children; there are few teenagers
and fewer adult performers.

10. Garbage Pickers, India 1993 and 1995

11. Electroplate worker, India 1993: The
educated use of protective equipment
by electroplaters is extremely
important in preventing contact with
various metals and acids. The
minimum protective equipment should
include gloves, aprons, boots, and
chemical handlers' goggles. Aprons
should come below the top of the
boots.

12. Metal workers, India 1995: Children in factories such as this make polished metal
tableware. They use high speed polishing machines and the noise in these factories
is overwhelming. No doubt most of the workers suffer hearing loss from the loud
noise.

13. Carpet Weaver, Nepal
1993: There are between
60 and 115 million child
laborers in India; of these,
at least 15 million work as
bonded laborers. Bonded
labor refers to working in a
condition of servitude in
order to pay a debt. Most
often the debt is incurred
by a child's parents or
relatives. The debt is paid-
off by labor. Children sold
into debt bondage work
long hours for many years
in order to pay the debt.
In India and Nepal there are an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 children who work
as bonded laborers making carpets. Shop owners say that they need the good
eyesight and fine fingers of children to make carpets. However, adults, not
children, produce the h ighest quality, more finely-knotted carpets.

14. Brick worker, India 1993
Throughout much of the world, bricks are made by hand. Even a small brick
factory may produce as many as 500,000 bricks per year. Each brick weighs
between one and two kilograms (2.2-4.4 pounds). A small child may haul over
1,000 bricks on his/her head or back each day.

15. Stone quarry workers, India 1993
In many quarries the stones are broken by hand.
Because of the large amounts of dust, the work is
quite dangerous. Workers are at extreme risk of
developing silicosis (scarring of the lungs) and a
related disease, silico-tuberculosis.

16. Why do parents make their
children work?

17. While the proportion of girls among out-of-school children dropped sharply in
most of Asia since 1990 (to 49%), the proportion of out-of-school girls in South
Asia is 60 per cent or higher.