Our hotspot in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan is working to progressively eliminate child labour through a united strategy involving apparel and handicraft businesses, the state government, enforcement systems and communities.
Hotspot start date: January 2019
Jaipur is a world-leading centre for production of traditional handicrafts, jewellery and unique textiles. But some of these products are manufactured by children working in hazardous and illegal conditions. In the workshops, children are often forced to work excessive hours in confined spaces and are out of contact with their families. They suffer damage to vision, burns and chronic cough. Rescued children at a Jaipur shelter made a video describing their experiences.
The Child Labour Free Jaipur initiative is a multi-stakeholder partnership coordinated by the Freedom Fund. This program is distinctive in promoting cooperation between Rajasthan and the state of Bihar to remove children from exploitation in workshops, pursue justice against traffickers and give comprehensive reintegration support to the children in their home state. Approximately 80% of trafficked children rescued in Jaipur are found to come from Bihar. By striving to plug gaps in the legal process against traffickers and shutting down workshops that employ children, the program is curbing human trafficking.
This hotspot is distinctive in its major focus on outreach and partnership with local businesses to incentivize them to lead as champions for a Child Labour Free Jaipur. By promoting the future growth of these businesses, mobilizing key Jaipur neighborhoods to move decisively against child labour and embarking on a large-scale awareness campaign in the city, the program aims to fundamentally change practices related to child labour in Jaipur.
The goal is to showcase a successful approach to reducing child labour that benefits business, tourism, the communities of Jaipur, and above all, tens of thousands of children, to serve as an important model to be replicated across India and globally.
Read the Rajasthan Hotspot 2019 Annual Report.
The program is:
Hotspot Annual Reports: