Child Labor....a long time phenomena

Child labor is one of the most controversial issues in Egypt, since it started long time ago and it can be hardly eliminated. The problem with the dilemma is that children under the minimum age required work for long hours under inhumane conditions, yet we can not generalize the situation.

With a population estimated to be more than 80 million, 17.5% of the whole population is under 15 years old. Of this huge percentage, many children work under harsh circumstances in order to make ends meat. Putting in to consideration that the majority of the population is below medium wage earners. Which force children to work during summer times and sometimes with school or instead.

The Agriculture sector in Egypt is larger than other sectors like industrial and service sects. And because people who work in agriculture live in rural areas and earn peanuts, their children work with them, which has raised a new problem.

According to the annual activity report of 2007, 14.9% work in the agriculture sector, 6% in the industrial and 1.14% in the service sector.

The problem faced in Egypt is that children of age between 7 to 12 years old work in farms mostly cotton ones. During the harvest season, farming exposes them in to deadly pesticides. So children get exposed to heat and pesticides for very long hours that can reach eleven hours daily. They have no social insurance and by the end of the day, they get paid around 5 – 7 pounds only, while they have put all their health and life in to risk. These conditions violate Egypt's obligations under the convention of the child's rights, to protect children from hazardous and ill treatment employment. The young children spend long hours smelling the pesticides, looking after domestic animals and touching pesticide cotton, plants and crops.

On one hand, Paid jobs encourage children to drop out schools and sometimes by force. But on the other hand, it promotes other children to pay and receive education after saving money from their work.

The main reason behind child labor is poverty. Children give up their health for the sake of their tummies. And so children work to make their living conditions better and to raise the family. While it will temporarily solve the current issue but will open a new problem in the future, when these children face unemployment due to school drop outs.

Further more, the availability of children in the work force market may attract some companies where they hire children for being cheap labor, exploit them and leave the adults unemployed.

Not all children work in agriculture or have the same job. Gender plays a big role regarding the issue. Girls for example, work as house holds in the city. Some of the apartment owners are good, others are bad and abusive. And girls abandon their dignity for money and to keep food on the table.

While boys work some dirty jobs like black smith, plumber, electric, dry cleaner, house maintenance person, or even work as scavenger. Some children actually sell (cigarettes, tissue and toys) in the streets. Others have been through more advanced jobs like prostitution and drug selling.

It is not that all job titles are unhealthy for children. There are other types of work that can suit children at this age. And it teaches them some techniques that can benefit them in the future. For example spinning and weaving can be a good progress for girls. Engineer assistants can be a great opportunity for boys.

Yet, the criteria will open doors for a decrease in the demand for adult employees. And will create a chance for school drop outs in the future. And most importantly, the allowance of further, physical, psychological and sexual abuses.

Elimination of child labor can not be reached in the short term; however the government should put the matter in to consideration for the sake of better generation. After all, child labor is a temporarily bomb that might develop underdevelopment.

There are steps that the government can take to decrease the phenomena. First, better quality of education should be provided for children in order to guarantee civilized way of thinking in the future. Further more, the government should add a law that limits prohibit any child labor before 12 years old. This will not result in to poverty because it will give a chance for their parents to be employed in the market. At the same time, the government should offer more job opportunities for the poor, through new investments in organizations and institutions, probably in the rural area as well as in the city. Beside other issues that should be put for granted in order to determine a healthy and educated generation that will push out country forward economically.