Pakistan's biggest problem is child labor. While "child labor" refers to the employment of children in any kind of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful. Child labor involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities – often at a very early age.
It was estimated that one quarter of the country’s workforce was made up of child laborers. In Pakistan’s city Hyderabad, children enter the workforce at the age of 8 or 10 years and they make bangles and bracelets in different factories.
The main reason behind child labor is poverty. This is mainly because limited resources are available for the person to get a job or even if they find one their salaries are much lower compared to inflation in Pakistan. Poverty levels in Pakistan appear to necessitate that children work in order to allow families to reach their target take‐home income, which they need to buy their butter and bread. On the side of the firms, the low cost of child labor gives manufacturers a significant advantage in the marketplace, where they work on improbable amounts.
How can the government overcome this at community and household level? One way could be: the child can work with his/her family in family based trades/occupations, for the purpose of learning a new trade/craftsmanship or vocation. By providing alternative opportunities for vocational training and education to children, providing viable alternative economic opportunities to poor families was an important aspect of the program to create a substitute to the income brought in by children’s work and thereby enable the children to go to school. Raising awareness among employers of children and their parents by the importance of education and the hazards children face in the workplaces and the consequences of these, is also extremely important.
The government took initiative to reduce child labor in the country and to support poor families in terms of financial assistance employment, and by passing an order for such children's families to enroll their children in schools.