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  • A young boy is walking on the hilltop surrounding the tannery area of Jajmau,<br />
Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, located on the most polluted stretch of the mighty Ganges River.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_01.JPG
  • A family home in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, has been transformed into a small-scale workshop where young girls are decorating the bracelets produced in factories nearby. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_06.jpg
  • A group of slum dwellers on the hills surrounding the tannery area of Jajmau are busy collecting fresh water being provided to the colony daily by the government in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The inhabitants are complaining that too little water is provided for the large population of the area, while in case of power cuts, a very common event in Kanpur, the pumping station can shut down completely for days at the time. Rows and arguments over water collection here are an unfortunate daily reality.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_41.JPG
  • A young girl from Joana, pop. 1800, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is standing in front of her house. The inhabitants of the village are affected by the wastewater originated from the nearby Jajmau Industrial Area, the largest leather producing hub in India, discharging directly into the holy Ganges River.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_40.JPG
  • A young woman is covering her eyes during a sandstorm, in the heavily polluted city of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, the largest leather production hub in India.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_38.JPG
  • A young boy is removing contaminated water from a bath after the process of liming, the removal of hair and impurities with the use of water and various agents, in an illegal tannery unit inside Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Children are largely employed to work on scraps, or little pieces of skin, like the head and the ears of the animal, which will become a small bag, a wallet, or maybe a cheap phone leather case.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_10.JPG
  • A young boy is moving bundles of just painted glass bracelets inside a house transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_15.jpg
  • Three brothers are painting bracelets inside their home, transformed into a small-scale workshop, in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_14.jpg
  • A man is bathing in the polluted Ganges River in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, at dawn. Sustaining life for thousands of years along the Indo-Gangetic plains, the river's ecosystem is in grave danger of being damaged beyond repair.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_47.JPG
  • Six boys are sitting on the banks of the polluted Ganges River in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, near the tannery area of Jajmau. Sustaining life for thousands of years along the Indo-Gangetic plains, the river's ecosystem is in grave danger of being damaged beyond repair.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_46.JPG
  • Workers at one of the illegal dumping and burning grounds on the outskirts of Jajmau, near the Ganges River, are portrayed while taking a break on a pile of scrap leather destined to be boiled and reduced to a thin dust: the first process to fertilisers and chicken food, in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_31.JPG
  • Workers inside the warehouse of a large tannery in Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, are counting, stockpiling and measuring pieces of dry leather while cutting out some impurities and scraps. They will then proceed with smoothing, colouring and finishing.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_18.JPG
  • Two young boys are collecting skins from a bath during the process of liming, the removal of hair and impurities with the use of water and various agents, in an illegal tannery unit inside Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Children are largely employed to work on scraps, or little pieces of skin, like the head and the ears of the animal, which will become a small bag, a wallet, or maybe a cheap phone leather case.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_04.JPG
  • A section of the slum growing along Jajmau Industrial Area in a maze of houses and tannery units is seen from the surrounding hilltop. A local boy is flying his kite, in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_02.JPG
  • Boxes containing bracelets are photographed at a local street market in Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_35.jpg
  • A young man is selling bracelets at a local street market in Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_33.jpg
  • A child is working in a small-scale glass industry in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. The air is filled with ammoniac and other chemicals making it hard even to breathe for only a few minutes before feeling dizzy and disorientated. The boy's co-workers, a few years older than him, are breathing in the ammoniac through glass pipes that once broken into small pieces will be attached to dresses as glittering decorations. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_28.jpg
  • Two young boys are decorating glass bracelets on their doorstep in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_23.jpg
  • A family is decorating glass bracelets in front of their home transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_16.jpg
  • A young girl is decorating glass bracelets inside a house transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_09.jpg
  • A family home in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India, has been transformed into a small-scale workshop where young boys and girls are aligning the ends of bracelets produced in coils by factories nearby. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_05.jpg
  • A labourer in a glass bracelets factory is pushing broken glass back into a furnace for it to be melted and reused. After a major clean-up by the authorities in the industrial area of Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India, child labour has been largely uprooted, but it continues unabated hidden inside the homes of  slum dwellers on the outskirts of the city.  Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_02.jpg
  • Labourers are producing glass bracelets used as women's ornaments during and after marriage, which are traded throughout India and internationally. After a major clean-up by the authorities in the industrial area of Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India, child labour has been largely uprooted, but it continues unabated hidden inside the homes of  slum dwellers on the outskirts of the city. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_01.jpg
  • Two children are walking near the banks of the polluted Ganges River in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, near Jajmao Industrial Area. Sustaining life for thousands of years along the Indo-Gangetic plains, the river's ecosystem is in grave danger of being damaged beyond repair.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_34.JPG
  • A young boy is using his bare hands to collect leather scraps a few meters away from the banks of the Holy Ganges River, in one of the illegal dumping and burning grounds surrounding the area of Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The scrap leather is destined to be boiled and reduced to a thin dust: the raw material for fertilisers and chicken food production.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_30.JPG
  • Young workers are feeding a series of large boilers in an illegal dumping and burning ground located on the banks of the holy Ganges River near the tannery area of Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. The scrap leather is destined to be boiled and reduced to a thin dust: the raw material for fertilisers and chicken food production.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_29.JPG
  • A worker in one of the tannery units within the industrial area of Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is pulling a large piece of leather from a chromium bath, where the skin has had hair and impurities removed in a process called liming, to be dried outside the factory.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_17.JPG
  • Workers in one of the larger tanneries within the Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, are stockpiling pieces of leather while trimming impurities and scraps before proceeding to colouring and finishing.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_16.JPG
  • Workers in one of the large tanneries located in Jajmau area of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, are processing leather in chromium baths, or liming, while complying to little, if any, health and safety regulations.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_14.JPG
  • A young man in an illegal tannery inside Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is taking a break from the dark, dusty room where he works smoothing and cutting leather. Labourers use almost no protection against the cancerogenic particles generated by this industrial process. Many are oblivious to health and safety regulations, their rights as employees or the impact of a prolonged exposure to toxic chemicals and particles.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_13.JPG
  • An elder and a young boy are using their bare hands to collect skins from a bath of contaminated water during the process of liming, removing hair and impurities with the use of various agents, in an illegal tannery unit located within the industrial area of Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_12.JPG
  • A young boy is collecting skins from a bath during the process of liming, the removal of hair and impurities with the use of water and various agents, in an illegal tannery unit inside Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Children are largely employed to work on scraps, or little pieces of skin, like the head and the ears of the animal, which will become a small bag, a wallet, or maybe a cheap phone leather case.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_08.JPG
  • A man is transporting unfinished glass bracelets from a house to another one on the road connecting two sections of the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_32.jpg
  • The owner of a house transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, is talking business with an associate while local children are painting and decorating the bracelets. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_30.jpg
  • A young girl is joining is joining bracelets with the use of a gas flame inside her home transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_22.jpg
  • A family is aligning glass bracelets inside their home transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_21.jpg
  • A family home in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India, has been transformed into a small-scale workshop where young boys and girls are aligning the ends of bracelets produced in coils by factories nearby. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_18.jpg
  • A group of young women are decorating glass bracelets inside a house transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_13.jpg
  • A mother (right) and her young daughter (left) are joining bracelets with the use of a gas flame inside their home, transformed into a small-scale workshop, in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_12.jpg
  • Agricultural labourers are collecting water devoted to irrigation from pools forming on the side of the polluted Ganges River in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, near Jajmao Industrial Area. Sustaining life for thousands of years along the Indo-Gangetic plains, the river's ecosystem is in grave danger of being damaged beyond repair while crops absorb the contaminants from the water and pass it on to those consuming the vegetables grown in this area.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_43.JPG
  • The polluted Ganges River in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is seen at dawn from its banks, bordering the large tannery area of Jajmao. Sustaining life for thousands of years along the Indo-Gangetic plains, the river's ecosystem is in grave danger of being damaged beyond repair.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_33.JPG
  • A child is using his bare hands to collect leather scraps a few meters away from the banks of the Holy Ganges River, (visible in the background) in one of the illegal dumping and burning grounds surrounding the area of Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The scrap leather is destined to be boiled and reduced to a thin dust: the raw material for fertilisers and chicken food production.
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  • Two boys are feeding a large boiler in an illegal dumping and burning ground located on the banks of the Holy Ganges River near the tannery area of Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The scrap leather is destined to be boiled and reduced to a thin dust: the raw material for fertilisers and chicken food production.
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  • A child is sewing parts of what will be leather articles, inside a medium-size manufacturing unit in Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
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  • A boy is taking a break while working inside a bath during the process of liming, the removal of hair and impurities with the use of water and various agents, in an illegal tannery unit inside Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Children are largely employed to work on scraps, or little pieces of skin, like the head and the ears of the animal, which will become a small bag, a wallet, or maybe a cheap phone leather case.
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  • A boy is removing contaminated water from a bath after the process of liming, the removal of hair and impurities with the use of water and various agents, in an illegal tannery unit inside Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Children are largely employed to work on scraps, or little pieces of skin, like the head and the ears of the animal, which will become a small bag, a wallet, or maybe a cheap phone leather case.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_09.JPG
  • A child is collecting skins from a bath during the process of liming, the removal of hair and impurities with the use of water and various agents, in an illegal tannery unit inside Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. Children are largely employed to work on scraps, or little pieces of skin, like the head and the ears of the animal, which will become a small bag, a wallet, or maybe a cheap phone leather case.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_07.JPG
  • Two children are using their feet to find the remaining skins in a bath during the process of liming, the removal of hair and impurities with the use of water and various agents, in an illegal tannery unit inside Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Children are largely employed to work on scraps, or little pieces of skin, like the head and the ears of the animal, which will become a small bag, a wallet, or maybe a cheap phone leather case.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_06.JPG
  • A child labourer in one of the illegal tannery units inside Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is holding to the side of a pool while stepping on buffalo's skins inside a bath during the process of liming, the removal of hair and impurities with the use of water and various agents. Children are mostly employed on scraps, or little parts, like the head and the ears of the animal, which will become a small bag or maybe a cheap phone leather case.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_05.JPG
  • A young man is standing by his bracelets stall at a local street market in Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_34.jpg
  • Children are decorating glass bracelets inside a house transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_26.jpg
  • A family is decorating glass bracelets in front of their home transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_24.jpg
  • A mother is decorating glass bracelets while her young child is sleeping on the bed inside her home in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
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  • A family home in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India, has been transformed into a small-scale workshop where a  young girl is collecting and counting bracelets to be sent in bundles to other houses for further processing. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
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  • Chotte, 10, a child with serious sight and hearing difficulties and whose father died only a few months ago, is collecting bracelets to be painted into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India. While his mother sells the bracelets on the street, he is employed for 10 Indian Rupees (0.20 EUR) a day in this house to carry on basic duties. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_11.jpg
  • A family home in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, has been transformed into a small-scale workshop. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
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  • A small section of the slum located on the banks of the Ganges river within the tannery area of Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is seen from a hilltop surrounding the area.
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  • A degraded and abandoned ghat (riverbank) on the most polluted stretch of the Ganges River is seen near the tannery area of Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Due to the extreme conditions of the river many of the once colourful and busty riverbanks of the Ganges have been deserted by many locals.
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  • Young men are drying fresh painted leather under the Sun in front of the tannery where they work in Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_20.JPG
  • A family home in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, has been transformed into a small-scale workshop. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_31.jpg
  • A child is decorating bracelets next to his boss inside a house transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_29.jpg
  • A child is sprinkling golden powder over glass bracelets inside a house transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_27.jpg
  • A family is decorating glass bracelets on their doorstep in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_19.jpg
  • The owner of a house transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India, is showing a bundle of bracelets just painted by local children. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_08.jpg
  • A family home in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, has been transformed into a small-scale where young girls are decorating the bracelets produced in factories nearby. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_07.jpg
  • A child is transporting unfinished glass bracelets from a house to another one on the road connecting two sections of the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
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  • Children are playing on the banks of a large drain flowing on the side of Joana, pop. 1800, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, a poor agricultural village affected by the untreated water discharged regularly in the Ganges River from the large industrial area located nearby.
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  • The owner of a house transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India, is painting bundles of bracelets while a local boy is assisting him. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_25.jpg
  • A young girl is decorating glass bracelets inside a house transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
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  • A woman and her two children are sitting next to a field in the rural area outside of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
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  • (name changed) Neelam Bharadwaj, 16, (right) is standing inside her family’s home in Rajbhar village, located around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India, while her older sister Sanju, 29, (left) is cooking. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
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  • Indian men are walking next to provoking Pepsi advertisement starring Bollywood celebrity Priyanka Chopra, on the streets of Lucknow, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh, India.
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  • (name changed) Neelam Bharadwaj, 16, (second from right) is preparing some rice for cooking, while her older sister Sanju, 29, (right) is preparing a pot with water, inside their home in Rajbhar village, located around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Sanju's children, Payel, 5, (second from left) and Prince Kumar, 3, (left) are sitting nearby. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
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  • Young women are taking part to an awareness workshop organised by Neeta Shani, from the charity PVCHR, in Parmandapur, a rural area near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. The girls are painting pro-women slogans on the walls of the local Panchayat, or village council.
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  • A young girl and other women are walking near a fruit vendor on the roads of Madiyaw colony, Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh.
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  • Afreen, 17, a member of the Red Brigades, is performing during a street play promoting awareness about women’s condition in India, on the streets of Madiyaw colony, Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh. The Red Brigades are a group of young women led by Usha, 25, who after an attempted rape began talking about abuse with her students, aged around 14 to 18 years old. Usha founded the Red Brigades in November 2010. They perform in self-written plays on gender equality around villages and cities, take part to protests and also teach self-defence classes. Most of the girls in the group have experienced some kind of abuse in their past. They sing words such as "all sisters are breaking all the rules, boundaries, come to bring a new world, change will come," and "for how long do we have to go through this?" and "the country has freedom, but girls do not have freedom."
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  • (name changed) Kanchan Kumari Sharma, 12, is sitting insider her home in Sersiya Kekrahi village, Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh, India. In 2012, Kanchan went with a friend to bring lunch to her father, around 2 km away from her home. On the way they met Rajesh (rapist) and Ashok, a friend of his. Both girls were picked up on the spot using an excuse. Ashok drove Kanchan's friend home, but Rajesh forced Kanchan to travel with him during six days and for hundreds of kilometres across different states. (Mirzapur / Chennai / Itarsi / Bhusawal) He raped her once behind the station in Itarsi. With great effort and some coincidence, the uncle of Kanchan managed to bring her back home. Although she was scared, she insisted on going to the police to file a case (FIR). She was kept at the police station for 12 days and threatened to prevent her from filing an official case. Ashok and Rajesh are from higher caste and wealthy families. While Rajesh spent 24 days in jail initially in summer 2012, he is now a free man while the trial is still going on. Kanchan's family is now struggling to put together 30.000 Indian Rupees (500 USD) to continue battling for justice in court.
    Sexual_Violence_India_04.JPG
  • (name changed) Kanchan Kumari Sharma, 12, is standing insider her home in Sersiya Kekrahi village, Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh, India. In 2012, Kanchan went with a friend to bring lunch to her father, around 2 km away from her home. On the way they met Rajesh (rapist) and Ashok, a friend of his. Both girls were picked up on the spot using an excuse. Ashok drove Kanchan's friend home, but Rajesh forced Kanchan to travel with him during six days and for hundreds of kilometres across different states. (Mirzapur / Chennai / Itarsi / Bhusawal) He raped her once behind the station in Itarsi. With great effort and some coincidence, the uncle of Kanchan managed to bring her back home. Although she was scared, she insisted on going to the police to file a case (FIR). She was kept at the police station for 12 days and threatened to prevent her from filing an official case. Ashok and Rajesh are from higher caste and wealthy families. While Rajesh spent 24 days in jail initially in summer 2012, he is now a free man while the trial is still going on. Kanchan's family is now struggling to put together 30.000 Indian Rupees (500 USD) to continue battling for justice in court.
    Sexual_Violence_India_01.JPG
  • Koren, 5, is one of three children presenting a similar neurological disorder and living on the same road in Joana village, pop. 1800, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He is portrayed while in the arms of his father. The village is located onto a series of drains joining the Ganges River nearby and the community is entirely.reliant on the poisonous groundwater. Koren has serious cognitive limitations while his body's right side is affected by a semi-paralysis and muscular defection. His family cannot afford even a rudimental medication.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_44.JPG
  • A child with a neurological disorder (2nd from left) is portrayed with his underprivileged family inside their rudimental home in Joana, pop. 1800, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, a poor agricultural village affected by the tanneries' untreated water discharge in the Ganges River.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_35.JPG
  • A large drain is pouring municipal and industrial waste into the Ganges River near Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Many drains are scattered around the area and discharge contaminated wastewater into the nearby river tainting underground reservoirs and endangering the fresh water supply of local people.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_32.JPG
  • Labourers are collecting and dividing the thin black dust obtained by boiling leather scraps in one of the many dumping and burning grounds near the tannery area of Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. This dust is the first process to fertilisers and chicken food.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_28.JPG
  • Dr Lenin Raghuvanshi, (left) and her wife (right) are listening to some of their collaborators at the PVCHR headquarters in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Lenin's grandfather was a freedom fighter in India's fight against the British. His father was a communist, so he names all of his children after famous communists: Mao, Che Guevara, Stalin, Lenin and Raul. Lenin used to be a doctor in Ayurveda and modern medicine but quit because of the inherent corruption he witnessed. He founded PVCHR in 1996. The charity organises workshops, supports victims during trial and with the police, and promotes education and gender equality.
    Sexual_Violence_India_43.JPG
  • People are passing by a capsized Tata truck on a rural road outside of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
    Sexual_Violence_India_35.JPG
  • A lone woman is crossing a small fence near a railway crossing on the outskirts of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
    Sexual_Violence_India_32.JPG
  • (name changed) Kanchan Kumari Sharma, 12, is standing by the entrance of her home in Sersiya Kekrahi village, Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh, India. In 2012, Kanchan went with a friend to bring lunch to her father, around 2 km away from her home. On the way they met Rajesh (rapist) and Ashok, a friend of his. Both girls were picked up on the spot using an excuse. Ashok drove Kanchan's friend home, but Rajesh forced Kanchan to travel with him during six days and for hundreds of kilometres across different states. (Mirzapur / Chennai / Itarsi / Bhusawal) He raped her once behind the station in Itarsi. With great effort and some coincidence, the uncle of Kanchan managed to bring her back home. Although she was scared, she insisted on going to the police to file a case (FIR). She was kept at the police station for 12 days and threatened to prevent her from filing an official case. Ashok and Rajesh are from higher caste and wealthy families. While Rajesh spent 24 days in jail initially in summer 2012, he is now a free man while the trial is still going on. Kanchan's family is now struggling to put together 30.000 Indian Rupees (500 USD) to continue battling for justice in court.
    Sexual_Violence_India_31.JPG
  • Young women are taking part to an awareness workshop organised by Neeta Shani, from the charity PVCHR, in Parmandapur, a rural area near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. The girls are painting pro-women slogans on the walls of the local Panchayat, or village council.
    Sexual_Violence_India_25.JPG
  • Members of the Red Brigades are showing their martial arts skills on the streets of Madiyaw colony, Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh. The Red Brigades are a group of young women led by Usha, 25, who after an attempted rape began talking about abuse with her students, aged around 14 to 18 years old. Usha founded the Red Brigades in November 2010. They act in self-written plays on gender equality around villages and cities, take part to protests and also teach self-defence classes. Most of the girls in the group have experienced some kind of abuse in their past. They sing words such as "all sisters are breaking all the rules, boundaries, come to bring a new world, change will come," and "for how long do we have to go through this?" and "the country has freedom, but girls do not have freedom."
    Sexual_Violence_India_24.JPG
  • Boys are playing arcade video games on the roads of Madiyaw colony, Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh.
    Sexual_Violence_India_23.JPG
  • (name changed) Neelam Bharadwaj, 16, is standing inside her family’s home in Rajbhar village, located around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
    Sexual_Violence_India_14.JPG
  • (name changed) Kanchan Kumari Sharma, 12, sick with fever, is lying next to her mother, Malti Devi, 40, inside their home in Sersiya Kekrahi village, Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh, India. In 2012, Kanchan went with a friend to bring lunch to her father, around 2 km away from her home. On the way they met Rajesh (rapist) and Ashok, a friend of his. Both girls were picked up on the spot using an excuse. Ashok drove Kanchan's friend home, but Rajesh forced Kanchan to travel with him during six days and for hundreds of kilometres across different states. (Mirzapur / Chennai / Itarsi / Bhusawal) He raped her once behind the station in Itarsi. With great effort and some coincidence, the uncle of Kanchan managed to bring her back home. Although she was scared, she insisted on going to the police to file a case (FIR). She was kept at the police station for 12 days and threatened to prevent her from filing an official case. Ashok and Rajesh are from higher caste and wealthy families. While Rajesh spent 24 days in jail initially in summer 2012, he is now a free man while the trial is still going on. Kanchan's family is now struggling to put together 30.000 Indian Rupees (500 USD) to continue battling for justice in court.
    Sexual_Violence_India_11.JPG
  • (name changed) Neelam Bharadwaj, 16, is standing among some clothes inside her family’s home in Rajbhar village, located around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
    Sexual_Violence_India_08.JPG
  • Afreen, 17, a member of the Red Brigades, is crying during a street play promoting awareness about women’s condition in India, on the streets of Madiyaw colony, Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh. The Red Brigades are a group of young women led by Usha, 25, who after an attempted rape began talking about abuse with her students, aged around 14 to 18 years old. Usha founded the Red Brigades in November 2010. They perform in self-written plays on gender equality around villages and cities, take part to protests and also teach self-defence classes. Most of the girls in the group have experienced some kind of abuse in their past. They sing words such as "all sisters are breaking all the rules, boundaries, come to bring a new world, change will come," and "for how long do we have to go through this?" and "the country has freedom, but girls do not have freedom."
    Sexual_Violence_India_05.JPG
  • Two labourers having a meal of boiled potatoes before beginning their daily work in one of the illegal dumping and burning grounds surrounding the area of Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. After being bathed in chromium and other chemicals to remove hair and impurities in a process called liming, the skins are examined by hand and the useless parts are cut and sent to one of these fields where they are boiled and reduced to a thin black dust. The resulting dark powder will then be used as a fertiliser or for the first stage of poultry food production.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_26.JPG
  • A man is moving a heavy load of half-processed leather on arrival from a different unit, to a new plant for further processing in Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Knowing whether children were employed in the process is the real challenge when outsourcing leather in Kanpur.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_24.JPG
  • The owner of a small tannery in Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is showing the leather just painted in their unit. Arrived from somewhere else, painted by the two children I have witnessed working here, it will depart to reach other hands, and later become an item for sale. In Jajmau this is a daily reality and an intervention is needed to curb the practice.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_22.JPG
  • Two men are moving a heavy load of half-processed leather using a severed horse pulling a wooden cart to a new plant for further processing in Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Knowing whether children were employed in the process is the real challenge when outsourcing leather in Kanpur.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_21.JPG
  • Three young men are working in a dark, dusty room where they smooth and cut leather in Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Labourers use almost no protection against the cancerogenic particles generated by this industrial process.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_19.JPG
  • A labourer is moving a heavy load of half-processed leather destined to reach a new unit to complete another step of the production chain. In Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanupu, Uttar Pradesh, the leather passes hand in hand many times before being ready for the final product manufacturing stage. This 'outsourcing effect' creates a considerable risk for local underprivileged children to become involved in hazardous activities and subjected to lifelong exploitation.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_15.JPG
  • A labourer is moving a heavy load of half-processed leather destined to reach a new unit to complete another step of the production chain in Kanpu, Uttar Pradesh. In Jajmau Industrial Area the leather passes hand in hand many times before being ready for manufacturing stage. This 'outsourcing effect' creates a considerable risk for local underprivileged children to become involved in hazardous activities and subjected to exploitation.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_03.JPG
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