Ayushmann Khurrana urges everyone to join hands and tackle the social evil of child labour. By Team Viva
After being the only Indian actor to feature in TIME magazine’s list of 100 most influential people last year, Ayushmann Khurrana was recently appointed as UNICEF’s Celebrity Advocate for its global campaign EVAC (Ending Violence Against Children). As someone who is known for starring in progressive, conversation-starting entertainers, he aims to bring constructive, positive changes to society.
Today being World Day against Child Labour, Ayushmann reminds us how this practice is a complete violation of child rights and must be stopped immediately. “Child labour robs children of their childhood and is a complete violation of their rights. COVID-19 has made children, especially girls and migrant children more vulnerable, exposing them to greater risks. Closure of schools, increased violence at home, death of parents, job loss within families is pushing children towards child labour,” says he.
According to the 2011 census of India, there are 10.1 million economically active children in the age group of five to 14 years (5.6 million boys and 4.5 million girls). Children in the informal unorganised sector, including domestic work, remain largely invisible and are therefore not fully covered in official data. They are employed as they are cheaper to hire, pliable to the demands of the employer and are not aware of their rights.
The COVID-19 health pandemic and the resulting economic and labour market shock are impacting people’s lives and livelihoods. Unfortunately, children are often the first to suffer. What began as a health crisis has taken the form of a full-fledged humanitarian/socio-economic crisis which is an even greater crisis for children.
School closure has disproportionately affected children who were already experiencing barriers in accessing education; including children with disabilities, students living in remote locations, children of migrant workers and those whose families lost jobs. Many children do not have access to online education as they do not possess smartphones, let alone laptops. Children in such poor and disadvantaged households are now at a greater risk of dropping out of school and are being forced into child labour, child marriage, or falling victim to trafficking.
Economic downturn due to lockdowns and other measures to tackle the pandemic has led to significant job losses. This, in turn, is expected to adversely impact the lives of vulnerable children from vulnerable sections of society. As parents and caregivers fall sick or die, children are forced to take over a part of their roles, including domestic work and other responsibilities which can generate some money.
Ayushmann and UNICEF have come together to prevent the exploitation of children and urge people to take cognisance of such issues. “Join hands to prevent this from happening. Advocate for social protection schemes for the poorest families. Highlight that all children should safely go back to schools when they re-open; dial ChildLine 1098 if you see any child in distress,” is Ayushmann’s petition today.
