__The Background__

Child labor has likely existed since children and labor started. In order for early families to survive, it was necessary for virtually all able-bodied members to pitch in and help with the various tasks needed to provide food and shelter. Child labor today, however, exists less out of necessity and more out of desire to exploit the lower wages paid to children and thus the higher profit gained by the manufacturer. In Pakistan children earn 1/3 – 1/4 the salary of an adult. Children end up being exploited because their parents are poor and because children are less equipped to understand or fight for their rights. Statistics from 1999 show that 65.6% of the population in Pakistan lived on $2 a day, where as 13.4% lived on under $1 a day. In 2007, 70 percent of the population lived on $2 a day. That translates into a staggering 112 million people who live below the commonly accepted poverty line.

For people at that level of poverty, they have no means of covering unanticipated events, such as a child getting sick. When such events happen, because parents can’t afford the expense, they will often go to a brick kiln owner or a carpet industry owner and ask for a loan. This loan is known as peshgi. In return for the loan, the entire family, including the children, become essentially the private property of the employer and must work for the employer until the loan is paid back. Because of the low wages paid and the high interest charged, it often takes 2 or 3 generations to repay the loan.

However, in 1992 The Bonded Labor (Abolition) Act made bonded labor illegal in Pakistan, and it cancelled all obligations of bonded laborers to their employers. Unfortunately, the government did not enforce this law and one million out of 1.5 million workers in the carpet industry were children by the end of 1992. While exact numbers are difficult to find, one estimate is that there are between 200,000 and 300,000 children working in the carpet industry in Pakistan in 2007.

Why does the government seemingly turn a blind eye to the exploitation of children in the carpet industry? Largely because of the significant monetary value that carpet exports bring into the country. For example, in Pakistan, Sialkot is the largest exploiter of child labor, and in 1994, exports from Sialkot brought income of almost US$ 385 million into the Pakistan economy. However, some progress seems to have been made, because a study in 2001 estimated that the total value of hand-made rug exports from Pakistan was over $211 million.

In addition to the factors of poverty and neglect by the government, lack of education is an additional contributing factor to continued child labor in Pakistan. Less education generally leads to lower paying jobs and Pakistan’s literacy rate in 2007 stood at 56% of the population. With 44% of the population over the age of 10 being illiterate and over 70% being below the poverty line, this leaves more than 40 million parents and their children susceptible to the general challenges of child labor and exploitation. This is why to today an estimate 1.2 million children under the age of 15 work in the carpet and rug industry in Pakistan today.

__The Issue__

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlJzXi4W8Ew

__The Solution__

One way to eradicate child labor is to boycott items made by child labor. This boycott might focus first on the industries in which child labor is the most prevalent. This is exactly the thrust of RugMark, an organization that is committed to verifying carpets and rugs that are made without child labor.

The link for RugMark is http://www.rugmark.org/home.php.

__MLA Bibliography__

Azam, Faraz. “Nike: Nike shoes and child labor in Pakistan.” TED Case Studies. June, 1999. June 2, 2008. <http://www.american.edu/TED/nike.htm>.

“Child Labor in the Carpet Industry.” Anti-Slavery Society. April 3, 2007. June 2, 2008. <http://www.anti-slaverysociety.addr.com/carpets.htm>.

“Killing for Carpets.” Third World Traveler. June 2, 2008. <http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Life_Death_ThirdWorld/Carpets.html>.

Omar, Kaleem. “Economic distributive justice is the key to creating a more egalitarian Pakistan.” Business and Finance Review. September 3, 2007. June 2, 2008. <http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/sep2007-weekly/busrev-03-09-2007/index.html>.

“Pakistan Statistics.” Rural Poverty Portal. 1999. June 2, 2008. <http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/pak/statistics.htm>.

“Pakistan.” U.S. Department of Labor. June 2, 2008. <http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/sweat/pakistan.htm>.

“Persian Carpets/Rugs.” Rug Idea. 2001. June 2, 2008. <http://www.rugidea.com/persian_rugs_carpets.html>.

“Slavery in the 21st century.” Scottish Socialist Voice. June 2, 2008. <http://www.scottishsocialistvoic

"Hum Coolie-Dedicated to the "Coolies" of India." Humanitarian Movement Against Child Oppression & Others Living in Exploitation, May 28, 2008. <http://www.hum-coolie.com>

International Labor Organization. May 31, 2008. <http://www.ilo.org/dyn/media/images/power/e2772.jpg>

"Child Labor Carpet Deal Signed" BBC News. October 22, 1998. May 30, 2008. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/south_asia/199059.stmg>

"The Face Of Human Rights." The Globalist. April 30, 2007. June 1, 2008. <http://www.theglobalist.com/photo/FaceHumanRights_Education/image1.jpg>

"The Tharwa Community." May 27, 2008. <http://www.tharwacommunity.com>

"Save The Children" May 27, 2008. <http://www.savethechildren.org.nz>

"Chobi Carpet, Pakistan Manufacturer Exporting Direct From Pakistan." 1999. June 4, 2008. <http://saleemcarpets.trustpass.alibaba.com/product/11491383/Chobi_Carpet_Pakistan.html>

"Chelsea Imports." June 4, 2008 <http://www.chelseaimports.com/a-carpets/A06.JPG>

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