883.2
Child Labor in the Informal Weaving Sector. a Study in Addis Ababa, Shiro-Meda Area
Abstract
Child labor is a widespread and growing phenomenon in today’s world. Though child labor exists in all parts of the world, the extent of the problem is very high in developing countries. Ethiopia is one of the countries where child labor exists in an extensive scale. The main objective of the study was to investigate the causes of child labor and its impact on children engaged in the weaving sector in Shiro-Meda area, Addis Ababa. I used qualitative research approach in order to generate relevant data as exhaustively as possible on the issue under study. I gathered information pertinent to the study through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussion, and observation.
The finding of the study indicated that poverty (child trafficking and migration), family breakdown and peer influence, are identified as the major factors that push children to enter in the weaving sector. The study also found out that child labor has negative impact on the children’s health, physical well-being, psycho-social development, and education. The study recommends that the prime cause that forces children to work in their early age is the widespread poverty of families. Thus, there is a need to educate parents, employers, the community on the methods they need to solve their socio-economic problems.
Keywords: child labor, child trafficking, poverty, education, peer influence, migration, Shiro-meda, Gamo/Dorze