Anuja, a short film that tells the story of a nine-year-old girl forced to work as a child labourer in a cramped garment factory in Delhi, has been shortlisted for Best Live-Action Short Film at the 97th Academy Awards. Written and directed by Adam J. Graves, produced by Suchitra Mattai, and Guneet Monga as the executive producer, the film brings to light a critical issue — the exploitation of child labour in the garment industry.
That T-shirt you bought for a unbelievably low price from a high-street label might very well have involved a child’s labour in its production. While we might like to believe that the glamorous world of fashion is free from such darkness, the reality is starkly different. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), “A total of 160 million children – 63 million girls and 97 million boys – are in child labour globally, accounting for almost one in ten of all children worldwide.
Nearly half of all those in child labour – 79 million children in absolute terms – are in hazardous work that directly endangers their health, safety, and moral development.” What Is Child Labour in the Fashion Industry? Child labour involves the exploitation of children through work that robs them of their childhood, denies them education, and exposes them to hazardous conditions. Most of us wouldn’t even realise if a child was involved in producing the cotton harvested with hazardous chemicals or if they worked in sweatshops toiling day and nig.
