Many children all around the world are not just orphaned, deprived or tortured, but the alarming increase in child labour has been a point of concern. Their poor working condition at a time when they are supposed to go to school is something that needs immediate attention. World Child Labour Day observed on June 12 aims at fuelling the movement against child labour worldwide. Actress Paridhi Sharma talks about the pressing issue.
“In my mind, child labour is a complete no-no. It is very important for every child to go to school and get an education instead if some of those who are underprivileged have to earn money or beg, I think that is our failure as a society. So it should be completely eradicated. As a responsible citizen, I can do one thing, to begin with, which is to not allow any child below the age of 14 to be a house helper. That is one thing which we can contribute towards the movement to eradicate child labour. In fact, when I see these small children at traffic signals or stations, I sometimes make it a point to interact with them to find out if they go to school. A lot of times, even though they say that they do, these kids also mention that there is a lot of pressure from their parents’ side to earn their livelihood. It’s a sad scenario,” says the actor, who will be seen hosting the upcoming show Siikho along with Aniruddh Dave.
The issue of sending children to beg and sell different items on the road is prevalent among the section of people below the poverty line. Many of us have come across kids selling flowers at traffic signals or begging for money.
On this note, Paridhi shares a “touching incident”. She adds, “I remember talking to a six-year-old once. He was holding a baby. It was a hot summer afternoon, so I reprimanded him and why he brought such a small baby out in such scorching heat. And that little kid was looking at a toy car decoration piece inside my car. But at the next moment, the six-year-old only asked for the car and I realised he himself is a child. He himself is torturing himself by carrying another child to earn sympathy and get money from people. Even though I couldn't give that toy because it was attached to the car, that really made me think about the kind of hard life these kids live. After that, I did carry some of the toys with me so that I could distribute them among these kids. I wanted to make them feel good.”
Child labour is getting worse in some countries. “I think in every country, child labour system should be completely eradicated. Strong law enforcement must be in practice against child labour and as a citizen of a country we must also try to be aware that a child should get an education instead of working at such a tender age,” she ends.
