• Strategies to tackle child labour

Strategies to tackle child labour

With the emergence of a global concept of childhood based on the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) there has been a growing interest in increasing children’s participation in society. This paper explores the legal, political, institutional, and cultural context for child participation in Bangladesh where marginalised children, such as child domestic workers, are still largely left out of the participation process.

Opportunities are very limited for child domestic workers to make their own decisions regarding matters such as choosing employers, working hours, schooling, marriage, and how to spend their own salaries. Factors that limit their participation include cultural attitudes, workloads, and lack of suitable educational programs. Increasing the participation of child domestic workers in society, and helping them to find their own agency in matters affecting their lives will require a comprehensive effort to be made in many sectors and on many scales.

Key recommendations include:

• NGOs should continue to work directly with employers, both to change cultural attitudes and to make them aware of existing school programs
• all sectors (economy, culture, politics, media, etc.) should be mobilised in order to change the cultural attitudes that inhibit child domestic workers’ participation
• the government needs to show a stronger commitment to helping improve marginalised children’s rights including participation.
  (Adapted from the author)

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