Nearly a quarter of children in Mozambique involved in child labour

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Nearly a quarter of children in Mozambique involved in child labour

12:38 CAT | 22 Jun 2016

Magazine Independente (File photo)

According to UNICEF in Mozambique, about 22.5 percent of Mozambique’s 1,526,560 children aged 5 to 14 are engaged in child labour.

The UNICEF figures adds to the list of the types of child abuse recorded in Mozambique, and paints a picture of children forced to abandon their studies at an early age in order to work.

Most of these children are forced to work in order to help their parents to put food on the table as a result of extreme poverty, but there are also cases of exploitative work, fuelled by trafficking networks in large cities .

As regard efforts to eliminate child labour, Folha de Maputo points out that the law does not prohibit hazardous occupations for children, and that education is only compulsory until the age of 13, leaving children aged 13 to 14 vulnerable.

Among the various forms of mistreatment and abuse that threaten children listed in UNICEF’s 2015 child protection report are sexual abuse and exploitation, trafficking, hazardous work, violence, living or working on the streets, disability, AIDS, and practices such as early marriage.

Source: Magazine Independente