Daily Times

It is a matter of national shame that us having entered the 22nd year of the 21st century has had little to no bearing on the shambolic state of human rights. In an ideal world, the courts should not have to hammer their gavel to lay emphasis on boundaries clearly demarcated by international covenants.

But over two decades after Pakistan’s Supreme Court had banned bonded labour as unconstitutional in Darshan Mashih vs State (1990) and despite the passage of Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, an overwhelming majority of children born in the vulnerable segments of the society cannot breathe in free air. Hari Welfare Association has decried the presence of around 1.7 million people (of which 700,000 are minors) engaged in bonded labour in Sindh alone while labour organisations routinely make note of Pakistan hiding the third-largest bonded labour force around the globe. Just last year, Islamabad High Court had, for the millionth time, stressed upon the illegality of employing those below the age of 16 years.

But the widespread prevalence of modern-day slavery and its deep entrenchment within homes and factories affirms that the powerful factions enjoy the impunity to act in naked contravention to not just their country’s law but also internationally binding agreements.

The less said about the disastrous implications of holding back millions of children who could act as saviours for their motherland scampering for any lifeline in all directions, the better it would be for our seemingly fragile national conscience.

After all, children hold the key to a future and letting them remain submerged in the quagmire of debt speaks volumes about our determination to secure a better tomorrow. Government officials may love to harp about tunes of welfare but their consistent (some may say, deliberate) oblivion of the ground realities is an open secret. Just celebrating the struggle of Iqbal Masik every May is not enough to undo the damage incurred by a long-winded list of their grievances.

It is high time that the abusive scourge of child labour is addressed comprehensively not just by the judiciary but also by the legislature as well as the executive. In addition, the society too needs to transform its mindset, bid adieu to the reprehensible Chota culture and treat all children like the ones in their own houses. We have been slated atop the Slavery’s List of Shame for far too long now. *