Child Labor Literature Review

Literature Review

Child Labor is one of the major consequences that results of poverty. Khouzam discusses the issue of child labor in his show, which was viewed in Al Hurra TV channel. He visited many poor areas in Egypt in order to discover the causes of child labor. He found that 3 million children were forced to work because of poverty. In the documentary, Khouzam also pointed out that “not only do parents force their children to work, but also many children volunteer to help their families because they have watched their parents suffer from poverty” (Khouzam). Khouzam interviewed a thirteen years old working child whose father forced him to leave school and work. He visited the child’s family in order to understand the cause behind their

Generally, education is more than reading and writing. It is one of the most important investments parents can afford for their children. As Sakurai stated “In Egypt the percentage of working children is so high because the failure of the educational system made many parents view that making their child work is a preferred option for their children (Sakurai)”. Some parents find it is unaffordable to send their children to school; consequently, they prefer to send them to work and simultaneously gain money from their work. Education is no longer the clear path of obtaining an appropriate income in the future. Parents believe that working children bring more income than educating people do. Abu Gazaleh stated, “the poor quality of education was not only reflected in its internal inefficiency”(Abu Gazaleh). The low quality of education has reduced returns to schooling, especially for poor households whose children are most likely to attend poor quality governmental schools. Low quality and low accomplishments among the poor produce limited learning and thus limited expected economic return, especially when compared to the rising cost of education. The low quality of education has been a serious problem that reflects in both low enrolment and high dropout rates of poor children. That shows that the low quality of education in Egypt produce many problems such as child

Some parents force their children to work below the legal age and thus they violate the children rights. Basically, children have the right to receive education, play, have medical care, and be protected from danger. According to the UN, children have the right to “be protected against cruel acts or exploitation”. To illustrate, Children “shall not be obliged to do work which hinders” their “development both physically and mentally” (Declaration of the Rights of the Child). However, some parents force their children to work in order to fulfill their basic needs of food, shelter, and clothes. Some children work below the legal age and they are harmed mentally and physically. Even though they have the right “not work before a minimum age and never when that would hinder” their “health, and” “their moral and physical development” (Declaration of the Rights of the Child). Some parents believe that children should go to work in order to share in the house responsibility, learn and gain experience. However, their perspectives are completely wrong since they violate children’s rights and influence them negatively. Indeed, children have the right not to work below a certain age but some parents violate their rights believing that their children will gain more at