Friday, 20 June 2008 - 3:18 AM EDT

STOP CHILD SLAVERY 
Most of the domestic help employed by the citizens of India are children below the age of fourteen. A Child Labour Act was initiated in 1986 which bans children under the age of fourteen from working. However, official Indian statistics show that 13 million children in India are made to work as slaves. These children are exploited economically, often physically and sexually. They are literally forced to do heavy work, work overtime, and are deprived from food, water, rest and schooling. They are made to work in unhealthy and perilous conditions. But why do children work? is what you will ask. Most children work because their families are poor and their labour is necessary for their survival. Children are often employed and exploited because they are cheaper to hire, in comparison to adults. For many children school is not an option as their parents find education too expensive and irrelevant. As a result most children grow up to be unskilled adults doing poorly paid jobs and in turn expect their own children to take up laborious jobs at a very young age like they had. Child slavery is a problem larger than most people are willing to admit. We need many more voices crying out for it's end.  We need education. We need to open our eyes to the truth. We need to act because only actions speak louder than words. STOP CHILD SLAVERY.