Navin Narayan

About the author: Navin Narayan is a staff writer for the Harvard International Review.

Child labor is both a cause of and a symptom of poverty in many nations. However, addressing the problem of child labor will require more than recognizing its connection to poverty. The world must acknowledge child labor as a violation of fundamental human rights because it severely damages the health of children, places children in abusive situations, and impedes the social and cultural progress of developing nations. Governments, human rights organizations, labor leaders, corporations, and health professionals must all work together to find effective ways to ensure that the world's children are educated and not exploited in jobs in multinational or illegal industries.

Two hours before New Delhi awakes, small girls are already toiling...