Child Labor
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), child labor refers to work that deprives children of their potential and dignity, and harms their physical and mental development. Because national standards, types of work, and circumstances vary, minimum age is used to define children. Under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, all individuals under the age of 18 are considered children; in South Korea, the threshold is under 15. A survey by Plan International reports that 18% of those exploited for labor globally are children. The ILO and UNICEF conduct a global child labor assessment every four years. Their 2021 report estimated that 160 million children worldwide are engaged in labor. This accounts for 9.6% of all individuals aged 5 to 17. The report highlights that sub-Saharan Africa saw an increase of 16.6 million child laborers in just four years, driven by population growth, poverty, and insufficient social protections. Conditions have also worsened in Asia, the Pacific, and Latin America. The 10 countries at “extreme risk” include: Bangladesh, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Liberia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Somalia. Cases of child labor have also been documented in the Americas and Europe.
Harmful Practices: Child Marriage and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
According to the United Nations Population Fund, it is estimated that from 2011 to 2020, more than 140 million girls around the world became young brides due to unwanted marriages. At the current level, as little as 14.2 million to as many as 39 million girls are suffering from early marriage each year. Most of them stop studying due to housework and early pregnancy, and those who are isolated at home due to growing further away from society are more exposed to domestic violence. Also, pregnancy and childbirth experienced too early cause fatal harm to life, such as harming physical and mental health. UNICEF recently called for an end to early marriage, saying that 1 in 3 girls around the world live in sub-Saharan Africa where the population is growing, and more than 150 million girls will suffer by 2030.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is another harmful practice carried out under the guise of cultural tradition or initiation into adulthood. It is performed on infants, adolescent girls around age 15, and even adult women. Though often associated with African tribes, FGM is shockingly widespread—it has been reported in at least 96 countries and remains commonly practiced in 31 nations across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. An estimated 200 million women and girls have undergone the procedure. Somalia has the highest rate, where 98% of women have experienced FGM, and over 60% of the population believes the ritual should continue. In recent years, FGM has also spread to Europe, Australia, and North America through immigrant communities. In the United States alone, the number of women affected has tripled over the past 20 years.
》Prayer Points
1. Let us pray that God Himself will care for the children who are suffering in pain and darkness due to labor exploitation. In many impoverished and unstable countries, children are used to fill labor shortages. Let us pray that these nations would move beyond short-term solutions and instead establish policies and laws that prioritize the education, care, and protection of children, securing a future where they are nurtured and not exploited.
2. Let us pray that governments in countries where child and adolescent marriages are prevalent will enact laws to ban the practice. Also, let us pray that the lies and cruel traditions—such as female genital mutilation—driven by cultural or religious customs that lead young girls into suffering and even death will come to an end. May God open the eyes of governments, religious leaders, communities, and educators in every nation to recognize and turn from ignorance and harmful practices.
》Scripture Prayer
(Proverbs 11:5–11, 27–31,NIV) 5 The righteousness of the blameless makes their paths straight, but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness. 6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires. 7 Hopes placed in mortals die with them; all the promise of their power comes to nothing. 8 The righteous person is rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead. 9 With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors, but through knowledge the righteous escape. 10 When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy. 11 Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.
27 Whoever seeks good finds favor, but evil comes to one who searches for it. 28 Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf. 29 Whoever brings ruin on their family will inherit only wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise. 30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives. 31 If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!
》Pray that the Word may become the Conclusion.
1. Let us pray that those who use children for forced labor due to covetousness will be scolded and repent. May those who follow evil due to cruelty realize the injustice that will eventually cause them to lose hope, and earnestly seek Jesus Christ, who is perfect justice, to gain grace and life. Let us pray that children suffering from labor will be saved from tribulation and that they will live happily as an eternal tree of life with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
2. Let us repent of the sins that promoted evil in various countries through religion and customs while promoting evil for the lust of the body. Those nations are not breaking away from or trying to escape from poverty, corruption, or the darkness of religion and customs. Let us pray that honest churches will be built in these countries to share the gospel, and that salvation and transformation will be brought through the prayers and evangelism of those righteous churches.
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