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Horse jockeys at home

Children used illegally in Jhalakathi race

M JAHIRUL ISLAM JEWEL, jhalakathi
When using children as camel jockeys is finally being stopped in the Middle East, young children are being used in horse racing in Jhalakathi and its neighbouring districts.
Kids as young as five are being recruited in the risky job of horse jockeys.
Poverty forces families to send these minors to work where they are not given any safety gears to protect them from possible fall and injury, locals say.
"Young children are more suitable for horse racing as they are light, which enables the horses to carry them easily," explained Harun LIr Rashid, who manages a group of horses at Dogona ofKathalia in Jhalakathi.
Lal Miah, a local, has four horses and seven jockeys - all children aged between eight and 11. He earns between Tk 600 and 1,000 per race from each horse.
The kids in turn earn a meagreTk 50 per race.
"I know the risks involved but I know no other way to earn money," says Shakil, barely eight years old.
"I fell from a horse a few days ago and I was
hurt."
Shakil told this correspondent that he left the job several times, but the owner brought him back by persuading his poor parents, who are in need of money.
Asit, 12, says he has been working as a jockey since he was five.
The Child Act 2013 prohibits engaging children in hazardous work. Under the law, any one under the age of 18 is a child.
"Forcing children to work in such hazardous conditions is illegal," Fawzia Karim, a member of the National Human Rights Commission, told The Daily Star.
Local businessmen organise horse races on the sidelines of local fairs. Three to five horse races are organised in Jhalakathi every week. Horses of the area are also used in races in the neighbouring districts.
Contacted, Md Masuduzzaman, officer-in-charge of Rajapur Police Station in the district, said they had no knowledge of horse racing in the area.
"No permission was taken from the police in this regard," he said, adding that they would investigate the matter and take necessary action if there was any wrongdoing involved.
According to district administration officials, horse racing itself is not illegal but the law clearly prohibits engaging children in such work.
Rights activists say such types of work expose children to the dangers of injuries.
Akkas Shikder, a lawyer in Jhalakathi, said it was sad that when these children are supposed to go to school, they are being forced to do such life-threatening work due to poverty.
For decades, children have been used as camel jockeys in the Middle East for the same reasons they are used in Bangladesh still now. But in the face of international outcries, countries in the region are stopping to hire children in the risky job.