In Bachpan Bachao Andolan v. Union of India & Others, the non-governmental organization Bachpan Bachao Andolan petitioned the Supreme Court of India to address the use of child performers in traveling circuses. A study revealed that children were being trafficked from Nepal or taken from their homes, forced to work as child laborers, and subjected to mental, physical, and sexual abuse.
The Child Care, Protection, and Justice Act regulates the care and protection of children, including regulation of: the responsibilities and rights of parents; the role of local authorities; prohibiting harmful practices; procedures when children are accused of crimes; establishment of a child justice court system; and general child welfare. Under Section 78, no child can be taken without the consent of a parent of custodial figure. Punishment for such a crime is up to 10 years imprisonment.
This memorandum examines the exploitation of child domestic workers in Bangladesh and the ties between child domestic labor and trafficking.
The Labour Act (the “Act”) establishes protections for employees and regulates the employer/employee relationship. In particular, this Act prohibits any form of child labor, forced labor, or discrimination and/or sexual harassment in the workplace. The Act also provides for basic conditions of employment to which an employer must adhere, including maternity leave for female employees. An employer may not provide disadvantageous terms in an employment contract or promote unfair labor practices. Violations of this Act expose employers to various penalties.
Law 11317 originally sought to protect women in the workforce and end child labor. While most of the law has been repealed and replaced with modern labor standards, a prohibition on women working certain jobs considered to be dangerous or unhealthy, remains. Said prohibition was explicitly brought forward in Article 192 of Law 20744, which itself had repealed and replaced many other provisions of Law 11317.
This law criminalizes child labor, exploitation, and trafficking. Exploitation includes, but is not limited to, all forms of slavery and servitude, forced labor, the use of children in armed conflicts and for organ trafficking, child prostitution and pornography of any kind, the use of children in other illicit activities, or any other activity that could put a child’s health, safety, and morality at risk.
This memorandum examines the public policy considerations raised by child domestic labor and the exploitation of child domestic workers.
A petition claimed that the traditional practice of electing young girls as Kumaris, or “goddesses”, who are expected to follow certain social restrictions and appear at religious festivals violated the rights of the child. After ordering a study the Court found that this practice did not prevent the Kumari from getting an education or qualify as child labor.
Citing reports that a traditional custom called Kamlari sends over 10,000 children between the ages of 7 and 8 into servitude for wealthy households or small businesses, a petition called for new controls on this practice which is against both Nepalese constitutional law and the Convention on Rights of the Child, 1989 (CRC). The Court ordered the Government of Nepal to frame laws to abolish Kamlari and ensure protection of affected children.
