Number Of Children For Hire In India On The Rise

Number Of Children For Hire In India On The RiseJuly 28, 2006 3:05 p.m. EST
Jacob Cherian - All Headline News Staff Writer
Andhra Pradesh, India (AHN) - Poverty is the driving force behind parents trafficking their children into the domestic service field in India. An average price for a child worker in Hyderabad, India is $152 a year.
If they can cook they will fetch a higher income. These children do not attend school, often engaging in child labor from the age of 6 or 7. The parents of children in this category are sometimes not aware of their whereabouts for up to four months. Despite this, conditions in India are encouraging parents and brokers to actively participate in trading in children for domestic labor.
NDTV reports confirm the Muttadu village in Andhra Pradesh in the Krishna district sends children off to faraway places like Delhi, Kolkota and Hyderabad. Two hundred children are contracted every year from this village alone.
A seven-year-old child trades for $87 on the market, whereas a 14-year-old can get a broker up to $330 for a period of one year. Half of the money is split with the parents. Girls are preferred over boys due to their submissive nature and for staying out of trouble.
When reporters from NDTV asked the Minister of the district about the appalling trade of children, he said that he was unaware of the existence of such a practice and that he would inquire about it.
Many social advocates feel that since domestic labor is considered non-hazardous, the issue is not taken seriously. However, an NDTV reporter cited physical abuse - in a case when an employer blistered a child for boiling milk 10 minutes late.
An estimated 30,000 - 40,000 domestically employed children are said to be working in Hyderabad alone, driven by the high demand for domestic help, poverty and the vested interest of brokers.

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