The International Labour Organization recently conducted a workshop in Islamabad where participants rightly stressed the need for greater media coverage
of child labour. Unfortunately, the sight of young ones forced into backbreaking labour and robbed of all the rights of a normal childhood, including education and good health, is so common in Pakistan that it has come to be accepted as an inseparable fact of life.

Caught in the web of poverty, it would be impossible for millions of families to sustain themselves economically if they did not send their children out
to work in the fields, factories and in the homes of well-to-do people. How then can it be made possible for them to leave off work altogether and enjoy a
carefree childhood?

Given the grinding poverty of the people, and with no proper social welfare system in place, it would be impractical to entertain such utopian hopes as a
society without child labour.

However, what is possible is a phased elimination of this scourge - that would, of course, also entail serious attempts at poverty alleviation. There have
been success stories here, and the football-making industry is one example where child labour has been reduced by a whopping 95 per cent.

Also, if it is not possible for millions of child labourers in the country to stop working right away, wide-ranging reforms must be undertaken to improve
working conditions so that their health and spirits are not impaired by the harsh conditions of employment.

The ILO has identified several areas of risky occupations for children, including the fishing, mining and bangle-making sectors. Children should be
kept out of these altogether.

Meanwhile, learning from the experience of other societies, factory owners, even private households employing domestic servants, would do well to ensure
that their young workers attend literacy classes, possibly on the work premises, at least a few times a week. [Source: IRIN]