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WASHINGTON, Jun 26 (OneWorld.net) - A children's center in Nepal is opening a new world of opportunities to young people like Maya Waiba, who was less than 10 years old when lured into an abusive job in a carpet factory. Now Maya is getting an education and dreaming of a bright future.

Maya Waiba plays karom, a South Asian game, in Hamro Ghar (Our House), a rehabilitation centre for former child workers. Maya was forced into labor in a carpet factory in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu. © UNICEF/2009/TaylorWhat's the Story?

"The best thing about my life now is getting an education," Maya says. "With an education, I can get a much better life than I had, and I will make sure that my children will get an education too, as I don't want them to have the same experiences I had." 

Maya's new life began after she was rescued from the carpet factory in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, and taken to a rehabilitation center run by Rugmark Nepal, a project to stop child labor in the carpet-weaving industry.

"I now dream of becoming a teacher. I want to teach small children, and I would love to be able to help my younger sisters," she says.

Although Maya is now well on the road to recovery, an estimated 44 million children across South Asia, many of them girls, are being forced to work. Despite regulations on child labor -- including absolute bans -- in almost all countries in the region, the practice remains prevalent due to high rates of poverty and lack of education and awareness.

"The long-term solution for eliminating child labor lies in reducing poverty, promoting access to employment, improving the quality of education, and expanding access to schooling for disadvantaged groups," said Guillemette Meunier, South Asia regional advisor on child protection at the United Nations Children's Agency (UNICEF). (See the full story from UNICEF below.)

Education as the Antidote

Education for children is the first step towards ending the widespread practice of child labor, said the International Labor Organization (ILO) on the World Day Against Child Labor earlier this month.

"Research has proven that educating girls is one of the most effective ways of tackling poverty," noted the international agency, which adopted 10 years ago a landmark convention addressing the need for action to tackle the worst forms of child labor. "Educated girls are more likely to have better income as adults, marry later, have fewer and healthier children, and to have decision making power within the household. They are also more likely to ensure that their own children are educated, helping to avoid future child labor."

This year's World Day Against Child Labor, recognized on June 12, focused on the exploitation of girls and the particular challenges, such as limited access to education and scarcity of skills training, that force them to work at a young age.

The efforts required to reduce child labor are in line with those to achieve the UN Millenium Development Goal (MDG) of a full primary school education for all girls and boys around the world by 2015. To this end, primary education must be both mandatory and free, the ILO explains, adding that the international community also needs to address the worldwide shortage of teachers and ensure a safe, quality learning environment for children.

Girls More at Risk

Girls are at greater risk of being forced to work because families in many parts of the world prioritize boys' education. Some poor families cannot afford the costs of education, and others rely on their children to earn wages and contribute to the household income.

Across the world, there are only 94 girls for every 100 boys in school, reports the ILO. In developing nations, enrollment in secondary school is 61 percent for boys and 57 percent for girls. In the world's least developed countries, these figures drop to 32 percent for boys and 26 percent for girls.

"Girls may often be the last to be enrolled and the first to be withdrawn from schools if a family has to make a choice between sending a boy or girl to school," says the ILO. "Without access to quality education, girls drift into the labor force at an early age."

The current economic crisis impacting the world may increase the exploitation of children, warns the International Trade Union Confederation. With adults all over the globe losing their jobs and struggling to make ends meet as food prices rise, family incomes are being stretched thin.

"Girls remain in the shadows, out of sight and at great risk of further exploitation," says UNICEF South Asia Director Daniel Toole. "In tough times, families take desperate short-term measures, such as withdrawing their daughters from school to earn additional money for the family."

Background: Child Labor Across the World

Child labor is generally defined as all economic activity for children under 12 years, any work for those aged 12-14 of sufficient hours per week to undermine their health or education, and all "hazardous work" that could threaten the health of children under 18. OneWorld.net's child labor topic guide provides more info about the causes and efforts to stop child labor worldwide.

There were 218 million children working illegally as of the most recent report from the ILO, released in 2004. Almost all child labor occurs in developing countries, where children work in agriculture, domestic service, factories, and, in some of the worst cases, as child soldiers or prostitutes. Child labor is often preferred because it is cheap.

State-sponsored child labor in the cotton fields of Uzbekistan remains widespread, despite a government ban enacted last year in response to international criticism. Meanwhile, in Malawi, about 20 percent of all children under the age of 15 are working full-time, and an additional 21 percent work part-time. In the Philippines, 4 million children aged 5-17 are working.

"Many of these children work long hours, often in dangerous conditions," reports the humanitarian news agency IRIN. "Child labor is closely associated with poverty."

On World Day Against Child Labor, One Nepali Girl's Story of a Fresh Start

From: UNICEF

6/12/09

By Sam Taylor and Sarah Crowe

World Day against Child Labour, celebrated on 12 June, this year highlights the continuing challenges to eliminating the worst forms of child labour, with a focus on exploitation of girls. Here is a related story.

KATHMANDU, Nepal, 12 June 2009 - Maya Waiba was still shy of her 10th birthday when a labour contractor in her impoverished village in the south of Nepal promised her parents that she would receive a decent salary and an education in Kathmandu. What Maya got instead was a back-breaking job as a weaver in a carpet factory.

Today, Maya, now 12, shudders when she talks about her old life in the carpet factory and how the contractor fooled her and her parents. "Working there was awful. I was beaten frequently, and had to work up to 18 hours per day in summer and winter," she says.

'I can get a much better life'

The eldest of six sisters, Maya was brought to Kathmandu on the empty promise of having a better life there. This promise only came true when she was rescued and brought to a rehabilitation centre in Kathmandu for former child workers, which is run by Rugmark Nepal, a UNICEF and International Labour Organization-funded project to end child labour in the carpet manufacturing sector.

© UNICEF/2009/Taylor
Three boys - one 10 and two 11 years of age - show their hands, calloused from months of work in carpet factories in Kathmandu. 

The centre is called Hamro Ghar (Our House). Its mission is to give exploited children a fresh start after their harsh labour in the carpet factories.

"The best thing about my life now is getting an education," Maya says. "With an education, I can get a much better life than I had, and I will make sure that my children will get an education too, as I don't want them to have the same experiences I had."

Physical and sexual abuse

Rugmark Nepal, which is part of a global initiative, regularly inspects around 120 factories in Kathmandu to ensure that they do not employ children. The organization issues certificates to exporters to assure their clients that no child was exploited during production.

In addition, Rugmark Nepal works to reunite child labourers with their parents. If that is not possible, the children are placed in Hamro Ghar, where they can receive an education and vocational training.

The children at the centre have youthful faces but aged hands bearing scars from months - or years - of hard work at the looms.

"There is a lot of physical abuse," said Ganga Bhattarai, a counsellor with Rugmark Nepal. "Both boys and girls are often beaten when they make mistakes, and sometimes girls are sexually abused - particularly those who have no family members in the factory."

Girls are 'hidden face' of child labour

For Maya's part, a new life at Hamro Ghar has given her hope for the future. "I now dream of becoming a teacher. I want to teach small children, and I would love to be able to help my younger sisters," she says.

Maya's story is all too common in South Asia, where levels of child labour remain distressingly high, especially for girls. Sadly, most child labourers are never rescued; an estimated 44 million children in the region are being deprived of their childhood and education because they are forced into work.

"Data does not capture the hidden face of millions of girls forced into child labour in South Asia. Girls remain in the shadows, out of sight and at great risk of further exploitation," said UNICEF South Asia Regional Director Daniel Toole. "In tough times, families take desperate short-term measures, such as withdrawing their daughters from school to earn additional money for the family. But depriving girls of education robs them and their families of a decent future."

Counting the uncounted

South Asian nations all have some form of legislation banning child labour, but the practice remains endemic and culturally acceptable. High levels of poverty across the region and a lack of education and awareness among parents pushes more children into work. Governments are attempting to tackle the issue.

"States are making a concerted effort to combat more visible child labour in the formal sector, but they fall short in combating child labour in the agricultural and other informal sectors," said UNICEF South Asia Regional Advisor on Child Protection Guillemette Meunier.

The percentage of boys and girls who must work varies from country to country. However, huge numbers of girls in the region remain uncounted because they work in unregulated and domestic sectors, and this work is seen as having little economic value. UNICEF is supporting vocational training and promoting the education and skills training of teenage girls in particular, as studies have shown that educated girls earn more and are more likely to educate their own children.

"The long-term solution for eliminating child labour lies in reducing poverty, promoting access to employment, improving the quality of education and expanding access to schooling for disadvantaged groups," said Ms. Meunier.

OneWorld.net Topic Guide: Child Labor

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