264,000 school-going children engaged in labour

Minister for social welfare Zubaida Jalal has disclosed that 264,000 school-going children are engaged in labour in selected five areas of the country. She was addressing the launching ceremony of the 'Communication Strategy Against Child Domestic Labour' here on Thursday.
She said the girl child is exposed to multiple vulnerabilities and must be protected as committed by the government under CRC and CEDAW rules. The National Commission for Child Welfare and Development (NCCWD) would be the focal point for dissemination of all relevant promotional materials on domestic and other child labour, she said. "The ministry will connect its safety programmes to families of child labourers through the Pakistan Baitul Maal as per National Social Protection Strategy," she said.
The minister said the Unicef and ILO have initiated developing communication materials that will be supported by many independent advertising agencies, multiple television channels, radio as well as the print media.
She said the ministry will provide promotional materials to all chambers of commerce and industry for campaign against the child domestic labour and standing committees on education, health and social sectors will be targeted for the action.
Zubaida said some government and private schools would be made active supporters of the campaign across provinces in all relevant local languages.
"Federal ministries, provincial departments of education, literacy social welfare, labour and child protection will be mobilised for the campaign. The Punjab Child Welfare and Protection Bureau is a critical partner in this campaign and is ready to take the campaign forward," she added.
She said the ministry has committed itself to the National Social Protection Strategy, child protection strategy and also campaign to end violence against children, both at the national and regional levels
"No society can have a healthy future when so many of its children are being denied their fundamental rights. The issue of child domestic labour is a part of government's mainstream agenda to end violence against children and to provide them protection," she said.
Zubaida said every fourth household of the country is guilty of child domestic labour. The girl child in Pakistan is very vulnerable and at least in two out of four provinces majority of child labour is a girl while in NWFP and Balochistan there is a reverse trend that needs further investigation, she added.