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Bonded
Child Labor
Bonded
child working in brick kiln factory
(Photo taken by Mathias Heng during Mission funded by
the Society. Copyright Mathias Heng)
Section
2 of the Slave Trade Act 1843 enacted by the
British Parliament declared "persons holden in
servitude as pledges for debt", ie, bonded
laborers, to "be slaves or persons intended to be
dealt with as slaves" for the
purpose of the Slave Trade Act 1824 and the Slavery Abolition Act 1833.
Bonded
child working in brick kiln factory
(Photo taken by Mathias Heng during Mission funded
by the Society. Copyright Mathias Heng).
Bonded
labor and, in particular, bonded child labor, exists in
Pakistan, India and Nepal. These children, known
in India as peyjolis and kuthias, are, in effect, the
slaves of feudal landowners or carpet loom masters.
Where
the whole family is in bondage, the child must watch
helplessly as his mother is assaulted by his master in
the bushes, or watch his father being lashed at the
plough or in the quarry.
Under
Article 1(a) of the Supplementary Convention on the
Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions
and Practices Similar to Slavery 1956, parties to the
Convention are required to adopt measures to bring about
the complete abolition of debt bondage.
The material in this report is based on a Mission to
South Asia by the Society's Secretary-General.
THE
SOCIETY IN ACTION
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Since
1996, the Society has been working to free
bonded child laborers in India, and, through its
efforts, many bonded child laborers are now free
and attending school in the State of Karnataka
in India.
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This
is a photograph of one of the many children released
from bondage who have been assisted by this program.
THIS
IS THE SOCIETY IN ACTION
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Links
to other pages dealing with this issue:
Bonded
labor in the carpet weaving industry
Rugmark
rugs and carpets
Goods
made by child labor
Different
forms of child labor
Child
labor generally
Society's
overseas programs in Africa and Asia
Internet
links:
Nepal
police free bonded child laborers in the carpet industry
The Society is not responsible for the
content of external internet links
of
external internet sites. |
