Born To Work: Inside The Brutal Lives of Child Workers

Children remain one of the most vulnerable groups in Bangladesh, living under threats of hunger, illiteracy, displacement, exploitation, trafficking, and physical and mental abuse. Although the issue of child labor is perennially discussed, there has been hardly any remarkable progress.

More that 17 percent of all Bangladeshi children between 5 and 15 are engaged in economic activities. Many of these children work in hazardous occupations such as manufacturing. Factory owners prefer to employ children as they can pay them less and keep their factories free from trade unionism. A child laborer gets 400 to 700 taka (less than $10) per month, while an adult worker earns up to 5,000 taka per month.

In this picture, the owner of a textile factory is beating a 12-year old child laborer.