Socio-Economic Problems of Child Labor in Rajshahi City Corporation of Bangladesh: A Reality and Challenges

Abstract

Social norms and economic realities mean that child labor is widely accepted and common in Bangladesh. Many families rely on the income generated by their children for survival, so child labor is often highly valued. Additionally, employers often prefer to employ children because they are cheaper and considered to be more compliant and obedient than adults. When children are forced to work, they are often denied their rights to education, leisure and play. They are also exposed to situations that make them vulnerable to trafficking, abuse, violence and exploitation. Millions of children are reported not to attend school, however estimated vary. Among children aged 5-18, about five million, are economically active. "Child labor" is a narrower concept than "working children". Many child laborers miss out on their right to education and fall a victim to hazardous work because they do not have the time to go to school or to study. The present study data show that duration of working hours and hazardous working environment are negatively correlated with school attendance, smooth livelihood and physical and mental development of the children. In this study, total numbers of 560 child laborers were interviewed by the author during June 15 to July 14 in 2010 from Rajshahi City Corporation in Bangladesh. Rajshahi City Corporation has 30 words. To data collect well-organized questionnaire prepared and using interview schedule and face-to-face interviewed from the respondents. Simple random sampling techniques were used.  Various socio-economic and demographics variables were considered at the time of data collection. But in this paper socio-economic variables are used. In addition, secondary data also used from various child labor's relevant books, articles, documents, and officials through Internet browsing.

Keywords: Socio-economic problems, Child labor, Rajshahi City Corporation, Bangladesh