Indian children still labor despite official ban

India last year enacted a law that banned children under fourteen from working in homes, hotels or restaurants. Quite a few people believed this was a great step towards ending child labor in India, while critics were skeptical that the ban would be enforced.

As it turns out, the critics have been proven right: the ban is ineffective. A little over a year later after the passing of the Indian legislation, the BBC video-taped children as young as ten making clothes for Gap Inc. In that case, the sweatshop was eventually closed and the children sent home.

This is just one example where justice prevailed. However, there are thousands of sweatshops in India, and most of them are never shut down. With families desperate for money, and authorities turning a blind eye towards the issue, this horrible abuse of human rights will continue.

If making clothes in sweatshops isn't bad enough, children are commonly found working in many other industries in India. They are found in construction sites, steel mills, tanneries, and farms.

One of the worst jobs for a child is quarrying stone. Over 100,000 Indian children work in this industry, and many are as young as five. They use large hammers to break stone into small bits that then have to be transported using large woven baskets. The stone is then shipped to various countries, such as the United Kingdom, to be used for patio paving.

It has been estimated that up to 90 percent of the children are working to pay their parents' debt and receive in return little, if any, money. Poor conditions on the worksite allow serious illnesses to become widespread. One of the most common is malaria. Because of all the dust they breathe diseases such as silicosis, tuberculosis and bronchitis are common.

Another occupation that children hold is carpet weaving. It is estimated that 200,000 to 300,000 minors work in these sweatshops, making many of the carpets sold in stores. Quite a few of these children live at their looms, work long hours, and receive little pay. The children, in return, get no money and only receive food and a place to sleep as recompense for their work.

To defend their employment of minors, many in the industry have stated that the nimble fingers of children are necessary to make the intricate designs used in carpets. This assertion has long been discredited as carpets of the best quality are made by adults, while children usually produce the low to middle quality carpets. The real advantage to employing children is obvious: they are willing to accept poor pay and conditions.

Having realized what is happening many people have started boycotting products that may be made by children. Several companies have stated that no children are involved in the making their carpets so as not to hurt sales. To further prove their innocence the corporations have developed new labels for their products that state that they were not made by children.

Unfortunately, the label doesn't ensure that children aren't still making the carpets, as often large carpet manufacturers buy their carpets from small business owners. In turn, these business owners are the people who run the sweatshops where the children work.

They can easily lie and say that the carpets were made by adults because there is no thorough system to follow compliance with the ban. And in turn, wanting the goods, the corporation buys them from these suppliers. This happens in other industries too, not just carpet manufacturing.

So how can child labor be brought to an end in India? It's a complicated problem and too complex to solve here. We can't just blame the parents who sell off their kids or the people who run the sweatshops. By buying the products made by kids, we are participating in and prolonging the problem. We share the blame.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author only, not of Spero News.