Author: Meena Baidya Panday
AIT Library Call Number: AIT Thesis no.GD-07-19
Year: 2007
Academic Program: Gender and Development Studies (GDS)
Type: Thesis (M.Sc.) – Asian Institute of Technology, 2007
Examination Committee: Bernadette P. Resurreccion (Chairperson); Philippe Doneys, Edsel E. Sajor (Examination Committee Members)
Abstract: This thesis is concerned with the emerging discourse on Child Rights that promotes children in the light of rights-holders and developmental vulnerability. It studies the causal factors in brick child labour at four brick kilns in a suburb called Imadole in Kathmandu. Child labour in Nepal has had historical social acceptance under socialisation patterns based on gender inequality and patriarchy. However, since 1987 the Child Rights movement led to child labour becoming a national agenda issue. It is estimated that there are 2.6 million child workers in the Nepal in more than 80 sectors. Child work at brick kilns has already been classified as a WFCL according to the ILO Convention 182 which the Government of Nepal has ratified to in January 2002. The objective of this research was to find out on the situation of the brick worker children in terms of their daily regimen, health and educational opportunities and awareness on their rights, their resilience and exercise of agency with participation in the community. The goal was to discern the attitudes to the livelihood imperatives that induced parents to engage their children’s labour. The overall objective was to discern the causes of brick child labour and its impacts on Child Rights deprivations. The methodology used was the semi-structured interviews using four thematically linked Questionnaires on a purposively selected population of 40 children, 36 parents, 4 employers and 6 key informants. Among the variables identified is that of 97% of the parents stating that the children’s labour contribution to the family livelihood strategy was meaningful. It was found that almost 86% of the children’s pay was used for basic family consumption. A most significant finding is that almost 78% of the child workers have access to schooling. This paradoxical finding is connected to another paradox that the brick child labour is a form of bonded labour which has been declared illegal since July 2000. This thesis concludes with the inference that without the family being gi
Scholarship Donor(s):
Note: A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Gender and Development Studies, School of Environment, Resources and Development
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