It is cheaper to buy a child than a buffalo in India, according to activists who marched on a summit of South Asian nations in Delhi yesterday to protest against human trafficking.
Most end up in bonded labour or working as prostitutes, the leaders of Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save the Childhood Movement) said as they escorted more than 200 children to the gates of the Indian Parliament to call for changes to legislation.
“While buffaloes may cost up to 15,000 rupees (£177), children are sold at prices between 500 and 2,000 rupees,” Bhuvan Ribhu, who conducted a study to be released later this year, said.
Their demonstration coincided with the two-day annual meeting of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation attended by the heads of government for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
India still has more than 12.6 million child workers aged 5 to 14. In Asia the estimated number is 122 million, according to the International Labour Organisation. India still has more than 12.6 million child workers aged 5 to 14, the largest number of any country in the world. Campaigners say that the new law has yet to make any difference because India’s economic boom creates an insatiable demand in the cities for cheap labour. In Asia the estimated number of child workers is 122 million.
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