As many as 104 child workers have been found at ward no 7 and 8 of Melamchi Municipality alone. Among them are 100 female children and 4 male.
It was revealed by a study conducted by the Women Self Reliance Centre. Fifty-two percent of the child workers are aged 9 to 14, while others are 15 to 18 years of age.
Moreover, 15.85 percent of the total child workers are not attending schools. Rest of them work in the rug industries every morning & evening, and go to school during daytime. However, they can not attend their schools regularly, the study added.
The Centre made public the study report at Malamchi on Wednesday. The child laborers, however, were not found to be involved in brick kilns. Most of the child laborers involved in rug making were from ward no 7 and 8, according to Evaluation and Monitoring Officer, Dhruba Sapkota.
Moreover, most of the rug industries being run in small scale at home are not registered at municipalities or other concerned bodies. Even the ward office lacks record on it, admits ward chairperson Tankaraj Giri.
The study further said the children working at rug making facilities were suffering from back pain and eyesore. Some of them even reported mental problems.
Although the law does not permit children below 14 t be involved in labor, the parents themselves were found allowing it. The study report mentioned that 61 percent of the child laborers were facing financial problems at home, while 39 percent were engaged in it due to pressure from parents. Similarly, 47 percent of them do not know about their daily wages, while the parents of 87 percent child laborers receive children's wage themselves.
They are bound to work from 2 to 10 hours a day.
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