In connection with the International Day Against Child Labour on 12th June 2025, WISE (Women in Struggle for Empowerment), Child Rights Movement (CRM), and Women Domestic Workers Union – Punjab jointly organised a press conference at the Lahore Press Club to highlight the plight of children engaged in labour across various sectors, including domestic work, brick kilns, factories, and agriculture and to call for urgent and comprehensive action to eliminate child labour in all its forms.
Iftikhar Mubarak, Director Search for Justice & Coordinator, Child Rights Movement expressed its concern and said that 6 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 are currently engaged in child labour in Punjab, according to the Punjab Child Labour Survey (PCLS) 2019–20. These numbers expose a grim reality that demands urgent attention and collective action. The data shows that 3.3 million children work in agriculture, over 800,000 in manufacturing. The Sahiwal Division has the highest number of child labourers (750,000+), while Rawalpindi Division reports fewer than 250,000. Boys are disproportionately affected, with 4.1 million boys and 1.9 million girls involved in labour. He emphasized on the integrated and coordinated efforts by the policy makers.
Syeda Ghulam Fatima, General Secretary of Lahore-based Bonded Labour Liberation Front Pakistan (BLLF) said that presence of children working at brick kilns in Punjab often trapped in debt bondage, forced into labour due to loans taken by their parents. Despite being banned under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, such practices continue unchecked — a form of modern-day slavery.
Bushra Khaliq, Executive Director, WISE said that according to the data collected by WISE from newspapers and online sources, between January 1, 2019 and May 31, 2025, at least 190 cases of violence against child domestic workers were reported in Punjab. Among them, 43 girls lost their lives and 147 were physically, sexually abused and severely injured. Most victims were between the ages of 4 and 15 with the majority of cases reported from Lahore, Faisalabad, and Kasur.
She emphasized that child labour in domestic work is illegal, yet continues with impunity. Article 3 of the Punjab Domestic Workers Act 2019 clearly states: “No child under the age of 15 years shall be allowed to work in a household in any capacity.” However, due to a lack of awareness, poor enforcement, and absence of official contracts, most domestic workers remain unregistered and vulnerable.
According to the Punjab Bureau of Statistics and Punjab Labour Department, there are approximately 912,000 domestic workers in the province — many of whom are children subjected to exploitation, abuse, and slavery-like conditions.
Syed Miqdad Naqvi, child rights advocate criticised the government’s apathy, saying it was the state’s failure to protect vulnerable children, depriving them of their constitutional right to education (Article 25-A). They also noted that the ILO defines domestic work as a form of modern slavery, and Target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — to eliminate modern slavery by 2030 — must be treated as a priority by Pakistan.
Shazia Saeed, General Secretary of Women Domestic Workers Union-Punjab demanded social security cards, free education, free health and subsidy on ration for domestic workers.
Adina Tayyab, Child Psychologist emphasized on the most ignored side of the mental health of the child engaged in labour. While demanding an immediate end on all forms of child labour, she demanded to invest on the abused and exploited children for their rehabilitation and reintegration of the children for a just society.
Sabahat Jabeen, Labour Officer from Punjab Labour and Human Resource Department shared the statistics. She said that during the year of January-December 2024, to address the issue of child labour at brick kilns, total 13228 inspections were made by the labour department and 164 FIRs were lodged. Out of that 62 culprits were arrested. Under the Punjab Restriction on Employment of Children Act, 2016, 29609 inspections were conducted, 1132 FIRs were lodged and 539 people got arrested during the period of January-December 2024.
The speakers demanded urgent government action to eliminate child labour across all sectors, especially in domestic work, brick kilns, and factories. They called for the strict enforcement of the Punjab Domestic Workers Act 2019, particularly the ban on employing children under 15 years. Emphasis was placed on rescuing children trapped in bonded labour at brick kilns. They urged the government to ensure free and compulsory education for all children under 16, as per Article 25-A of the Constitution. The ratification of ILO Convention 189 was demanded to protect domestic workers’ rights. Speakers called for updated and disaggregated data on child labour to guide policy action. A large-scale awareness campaign was proposed to educate employers, communities, and stakeholders.
