Bhubaneswar,  -  Atleast 15 village panchayats would be identified in each state, to free the girl child labour as a model intervention by Member organizations of CACL, besides this hectic lobbying and consultation will be on for a comprehensive law for protection of child rights along with for necessary amendments to the CLPRA, further to set up Central and state level commission(s) for children these and many other similar resolutions concerning child labour issues were adopted during a two days National Workshop on girl child labour held at Bhubaneswar recently. The workshop was organized by Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL), followed by launching of Freeing the Girl child labour year.

CACL, a national level network of 6000 odd NGOs, Child rights & Human rights activists and organizations is focusing and observing the year 2003-04 as Girl Chid Labour Year. To implement these programme, CACL has decided to take up nation wide campaign, for bringing more childrens to schools, thereby mainstreaming Girl child labours into fulltime formal schools, to have this there need to set up bridge schools and Govt. should order schools to admit children through out the year, besides these, CACL would aslo take up campaign in motivating parents for education of Girls and rescuing of girl child from domestic labour sector.

The workshop which was attended by 60 Girl child labours from various parts of the country, narrated their story of exploitation, release and rehabilitation. Among them, Prema, aged about 12, who hails from Mysore, she has a different story to tell, was working as a child labour in sericulture work, was also abused and had worked overtime, she was rescued by the volunteers of APSA, now a rehabilitated child labour continuing here study.

Welcoming the delegates, while launching the freeing Girl child Labout year by CACL, its natinal Convenor Mr. Ranjan Mohanty, spoke at length, the need for focusing on Girl Child according to him out of 80 million child labourers, around 60% are girl child labourers. They are most vulnerable, because they are first girls and prey of gender discrimination, they are child and finally labourer and vulnerable to all sorts of abuses.

The two days workshop, which had debated on definition of child labour also discussed child sexual abuse, exploitation of childrens, domestic child labour, child trafficking and above all regarding rescuing of girl child in domestic sector and other sectors had two parallel session for child labourers and adults. After two days of deliberations two separates declaratin were announced during the lunching ceremony.

Among others who spoke as guests and resource persons in various sessions of the workshops were Former Supreme Court judge & Chair Person, Orissa Human Right Commission Justice D.P.Mohapatra, Padmashree Tulasi Munda, Film Actress Ushasi Mishra, Veteran Film personality and educationist Sarat Pujari, Lok Sabha MP Mr. Anadi Sahu and Rajya Sabha MP Mr. Rama Chandra Khuntia. About 250 delegates including girl child labourers. NGO functionaries, media persons and concerned citizen participated in this two days deliberations had pleged to free the girl child labour and work together to bring back their lost childhood.