World Vision International, a humanitarian organisation, warns that COVID-19 has forced eight million children into begging and child labour. Amidst the income plummets and job lay-offs of family members, this marginalised population is forced to beg from streets to streets. Various estimates suggest that there are approximately 700,000 beggars in Bangladesh, of which 40,000 reside in the capital city. A survey conducted by Bangladesh Centre for Human Rights and Development (BCHRD) revealed that 16.5% of beggars in Dhaka City are below 12 years of age. A report of World Vision titled "Out of Time: COVID-19 Aftershocks" reports that 34% of families in Bangladesh suffering from significant income loss sent their children to beg on the streets. However, these figures are just the tip of the iceberg. The hardships of child beggars have snowballed in the wake of COVID-19. Streets, footpaths, markets, transportation terminals, crowded parks in cities are usually the locales of child beggars. These children are at a higher peril of contracting the virus for their exposure to crowded areas.

The Constitution of Bangladesh offers an array of judicially enforceable fundamental rights to its citizens including children. Article 28 (4) allows the State to make special provisions in favour of children. Bangladesh has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Children (UNCRC) with a pledge to safeguard the rights of the children. Despite repeatedly reiterating its commitment towards the advocacy of child rights, the rights of children begging on the streets are being grossly violated.

The Children Act, 2013 is considered a milestone for the protection of child rights in all spheres of life. Section 71 of the aforesaid Act penalises the employment of a child in begging. Section 85 enumerates institutional care for disadvantaged children. Unfortunately, the Act fails to chalk out a rehabilitation plan distinguishing the children begging in the streets. The Vagrant and Shelterless Person (Rehabilitation) Act, 2011 was passed to rehabilitate people having no fixed abode. However, the Act pays scant attention to child vagrants. It discarded various provisions concerning "child vagrants" from its antecedent Act of 1943. Under Section 10 (3) of the 2011 Act, children of female detained vagrants can stay in the shelter homes till they are seven. Afterward these children will be moved into a children's shelter. Pursuant to Section 18 of the 2011 Act, employment and income-earning source would be created for the detained vagrant person before release. The Act fails to shed light on ensuring the rehabilitation of vagrant children and ensuring that they do not again end up in the streets. Bangladesh government has been running a programme for rehabilitation and alternative employment of beggars under the Department of Social Services. Though around 2,710 people were rehabilitated in the fiscal year 2017-2018, children often go unnoticed. Children can stay in the shelter homes until their families are traced but no subsequent follow-ups are ensured. Measures are not taken to corroborate their proper care keeping them away from the streets.

The lacunae in the existing laws combined with myopic endeavours have aggravated the barriers for reinstating the children forced into begging by the pandemic. In India, in a public interest litigation filed in Bombay High Court, urgent relief was sought regarding the surge of beggars after the relaxation of lockdown directions. In the light of the pandemic, the petitioner entreated for the rehabilitation of women and children beggars to safeguard them from the virus. In November, the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights commenced a child beggary rescue campaign to ensure that no child is forced into beggary and the children already involved are rescued and rehabilitated.

It is high time for Bangladesh to adopt measures before the pandemic lapses more children into begging. An integrated scheme for the identification, rescue, relief, and rehabilitation of child beggars needs to be organised under the National Human Rights Commission. After the rescue, the children need to be placed in a secure and nurturing environment. Adequate relief suitable for the needs of the children needs to be provided. Families of strayed children should be traced and children without families should be taken into shelter homes. Fining or reprimanding the families for employing the children in begging might not be fruitful in the long run. Rather, a holistic approach should be adopted for their rehabilitation. Quality education should be made accessible for these afflicted children and income-generating activities should be conducted with their families. Access to quality education, healthcare coordinated with family reintegration can work as an escape route from begging.

The writer is a student of law at University of Chittagong.