World Children’s Day today: Child protection fails as labour rates soar

Tasnuba Akhter Rifa :

As the world observes World Children’s Day today, Bangladesh faces an alarming rise in child labour that threatens decades of progress in child rights, protection, and well-being, experts say.

This year, the lesson plan is built around the theme “How to make every day World Children’s Day,” giving students aged 6 to 18 the opportunity to understand the link between the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and global goals such as quality education, gender equality, reducing inequalities, and peace and justice.

On the eve of World Children’s Day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres wished children saying, “This World Children’s Day, let us listen to children. And let us amplify their voices as they stand up for their rights.”

The progress of Bangladesh’s child right protection become vulnerable as the preliminary findings from the Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2025 show that 9.2 per cent of children aged 5–17 are now engaged in labour, up from 6.8 per cent in 2019. This increase places an additional 1.2 million children at risk of exploitation, hazardous work, and long-term deprivation.

The survey by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) points to significant setbacks across health, protection, water and sanitation, and education indicators that collectively reflect declining child wellbeing.

The findings were presented at the Bangladesh–China Friendship Conference Centre recently, where experts warned that rising child labour, coupled with high levels of violence against children, poses long-term threats to their safety and development.

When contacted, Farah Kabir – Country Director ActionAid Bangladesh told The New Nation on Wednesday, “Child labour increasing in the country due to reducing trend of investment, rising unemployment among the people, increasing climate change related vulnerability.”

She said, huge amount of money laundered abroad by the previous ruling party men and their privileged business people. As a result, the internal investment reduced alarmingly and pushed the country’s economy towards vulnerable situation. “As the poverty on rise, the child labour also increasing as well,” she said.

Farah Kabir stressed on allotting sufficient budget for education, introducing mid-day meals and special scholarships for female children to reduce child labour.

Yet, at a moment meant to honour children, new data paints a deeply troubling picture.

In Dhaka’s Bongshal, 14-year-old Sifat has been working in a motorcycle repair shop since he was seven. After losing his mother, he left school and became the family’s youngest wage earner among four siblings.

Sadia, now 15, arrived from Mymensingh with her mother, who works as a domestic helper. Unable to support the family on her own, she placed Sadia in a shoe-sewing workshop at age 12.

Twelve-year-old Abdullah works in a plastic door shop on North South Road. He dropped out of school to help support his family.

In Old Dhaka’s Laxmibazar, 11-year-old Raju spends his days washing dishes at a fuchka stall. He has never attended school. His father abandoned the family, leaving Raju and his mother to work for survival.

There are countless more like them, children whose dreams are replaced by burdens far beyond their years.

World Children’s Day calls for collective action to protect children’s rights and build a fairer world for them. However, in Bangladesh, the increasing prevalence of child labour highlights the need for pledges to evolve into stronger policies, stricter enforcement, and effective social protection.

As the country marks this important day, the stories of Sifat, Sadia, Abdullah, and Raju serve as a powerful reminder that protecting children requires more than promises it requires action that ensures every child can grow, learn, and live with dignity.

Regional disparities in child labour rates are also stark. Rajshahi reports a rate of 12.4 percent, followed closely by Rangpur at 11.8 percent. UNICEF warns that without urgent intervention, millions more could fall into exploitative work, undermining Bangladesh’s commitments under international child-rights treaties.

Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 prohibits employing children under 14 and bans hazardous work for anyone under 18. Article 284 specifically outlaws child labour in dangerous sectors. However, enforcement remains weak. Penalties are limited to fines of up to Tk 5,000 an amount child-rights advocates argue is too low to deter employers.

In reality, workshops, factories, and street-side stalls across the country continue to rely on child workers.

World Children’s Day is being observed since 1954 and commemorated annually on 20 November, is rooted in two historic milestones: the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. The day reinforces global commitments to children’s welfare, equality, and protection.