Saturday, May 17, 2008, Jamadi-ul-Awwal 10, 1429    

Pakistan facing worst form of child labour: Saba
Media role vital to curb this menace

M Sarwar Awan

Islamabad—National Project Manager ILO-IPEC Saba Mohsin Raza has said that Pakistan is experiencing worst forms of child labour with over 3.3 million child workers which is a point of major concern for all the stakeholders.
This grave situation demands more serious practical initiatives from all stakeholders including media so that this social menace is controlled effectively.
She was addressing senior columnists and editors at a session jointly organized by ILO and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The session was part of the ILO’s plan of action to sensitize through media the issue of child labour for creating general awareness on the issue.
She said that around 264 million are child labourers in the world with 127.3 million child labourers (5-14 year) in Asia-Pacific region. Pakistan have about 40 million children out of which 3.3 million are labourers (5-14 years) including 2.4 million boys (10-14 years) and 0.9 million girls (5-9 years).
However, she explained that the ILO with strong cooperation of the Government of Pakistan is vigorously taking effective initiatives for eliminating the child labour from the society. About the ILO’s progress in controlling the child labour in Pakistan, she explained that with these initiatives the ILO has so far rehabilitated around 72,000 families throughout the country.
Saba Mohsin Raza sought the strong cooperation on the part of the national media as it has the potential to develop a positive public opinion on social issues particularly child labour.
“Children are our asset and all of us should come forward to protect this asset,” she remarked and added that all those having resources should bear the education expense of at least one child worker, as it would ultimately lead to a literate and strong nation in the world.
About the ethics of media reporting about child labour, she said, “Media should not release information of the victim of child abuse and protect him/her against all the evil influences that may exist in our society at any time.”
On the occasion, participants of the session raised a number of questions about the commitment of the government and International Labour Organization for the eradication of child labour from the country.
They also highlighted the ground situation of this social menace and economic aspects behind this social curse gaining roots.