Rising child labour in Bangladesh sparks concern over exploitation, workplace abuse
Dhaka, July 20
Amid rising concerns over child abuse in Bangladesh, official helpline data revealed that the government-run child support service 1098 received 101 abuse-related calls from January to June 10, while emergency helpline 999 recorded 33 complaints of workplace child abuse until May, local media reported on Monday.
Citing a survey titled 'Situation of Child Domestic Workers in Dhaka City' conducted by Dhaka-based Action for Social Development (ASD), Bangladesh's leading Bengali newspaper, The Daily Ittefaq, reported that nearly 50 per cent of children engaged in domestic work in the capital face various forms of abuse, while 31.45 per cent are subjected to excessive workload.
Laila Khandaker, convener of child rights organisation 'Shishurai Sab', said that children employed in hotels, restaurants, transportation, brick kilns and various informal sectors endure long working hours every day, physical abuse, humiliation, unhygienic working conditions, low wages and, in many cases, non-payment of wages.
Khandaker said that the demand for child labour remains high because children are perceived as weak, easily controlled and unlikely to protest against abuse.
"We do not have much scope for monitoring in the institutional field. "And children do most of the work in the informal sector. So they are victims of abuse in the workplace, and there is no remedy for it," The Daily Ittefaq quoted her as saying.
Zakia Sultana, president of the Domestic Workers National Forum Bangladesh, said she began working as a domestic worker at the age of eight and endured various forms of abuse. She said that decades later, little has changed, as children as young as eight-year-olds from impoverished families continue to face similar abuse while working in households.
Referring to several cases of abuse involving child domestic workers, she said, "We know that these incidents have been in the media and have been discussed. But even though we know that domestic worker children are constantly subjected to various types of abuse, including sexual harassment, when they come to work, we cannot stop them."
Last month, local media reported a sharp rise in child labour across Bangladesh over the past six years, with nearly 1.2 million additional children entering the workforce since 2019, according to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2025.
The report revealed that 9.2 per cent of children aged between 5 and 17 years are currently involved in child labour, witnessing a rise from 6.8 per cent in 2019.
This rise came despite Bangladesh's commitment to end child labour and coincided with the World Day Against Child Labour observed on June 12. The findings suggest that economic problems are forcing children to stop studies and enter the workforce, Bangladeshi daily 'Dhaka Tribune' reported.
— IANS
Reader Comments
The report says 50% of child domestic workers face abuse—that's unimaginable. 😢 It reminds me of the recent cases in Delhi where children were rescued from bonded labour in factories. Bangladesh and India share similar challenges. We must demand stronger child protection mechanisms and better monitoring. No child should have to endure this.
While it's easy to criticize, let's not forget that many families have no choice. The government's 'Shishurai Sab' group is right—children in the informal sector are invisible to authorities. We need south Asian cooperation to tackle this. Maybe India and Bangladesh can share best practices on skill training and school enrollment drives. But first, we must acknowledge the scale of the problem. 📉
As an outsider, I feel these numbers are alarming. The 31.45% subjected to excessive workload is particularly disturbing. In developed countries, we have robust labor inspections, but I understand that's challenging in informal sectors. I hope international organizations can support Bangladesh and India in creating safer alternatives for these children. Education must be made compulsory and accessible.
The fact that Zakia Sultana experienced this herself as a child and says 'little has changed' decades later is heartbreaking. 😔 Why aren't our leaders prioritizing this? We have laws, but implementation is weak. In rural India, similar stories exist—children missing school to work in fields or homes. This is a collective failure of society. We need community-based monitoring systems.
I'm saddened but not surprised. The pandemic pushed many families into poverty, and
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