Today the World Day Against Child Labor is being observed globally and Pakistan mourns the killing of an 8-year-old girl, Zohra Shah illegally employed as a maid in Rawalpindi. The girl was allegedly beaten to death on 3 June 2020 by her employers after she let free some birds. This sad incident shows the state of children’s rights in Pakistan. The question arises why Zohra was employed as a housemaid as she should be enrolled in the school. Article 25-A of the Constitution of Pakistan guarantees free and compulsory education to all children age 5 to 16 years. Pakistan has the world’s second-highest number of out of school children with an estimated over 23 million children aged 5-16 who are not attending school, representing 44 percent of the total population in this age group. PODA demands that the abuser in Zohra’s case should be charged for murder and the girl’s parents should not be forced into forgiving him due to poverty. The government must provide them justice and social protection and economic aid. PODA also demands the implementation of the law that prohibits minors from working as domestic servants and Article 25-A.

# WorldDayAgainstChildLabor #ImplementArticle25A #BanChildLabor