Campaign on Child Protection for Children involved in Agriculture Labour

In Pakistan, child labour is regulated through federal and provincial legislation that sets minimum ages for employment and prohibits children from working in hazardous occupations. However, a significant gap remains in the agriculture sector, where a large proportion of working children are engaged. Provincial child labour surveys conducted between 2019 and 2025 have consistently highlighted agriculture as one of the main sectors employing children, particularly in rural areas.

Despite the scale of children’s involvement in agriculture, many forms of agricultural work fall outside the effective coverage of existing labour laws and enforcement mechanisms. This leaves children working on farms, in crop production, livestock-related activities and other forms of agricultural labour with limited legal and institutional protection, even where the work may expose them to hazardous conditions, long hours, dangerous machinery, pesticides, extreme weather or interruption of their education.

Recognising this important protection gap, Obun2 launched a social media campaign in June 2026, in observance of the World Day Against Child Labour, to draw attention to the situation of children engaged in agricultural labour. The campaign called for stronger legal protection, clearer regulation and improved enforcement so that children working in agriculture receive the same safeguards available to children employed in other sectors.