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The financial downturn combined with cultural prejudices that favor boys over girls is likely to cause an increase in the number of young females dropping out of school, a discussion on child labor said on Thursday.

Alan Boulton, the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) country director, said that economic pressures on families force children to leave school, but who in the family drops out is often decided by cultural and community prejudices.

“The thinking within these communities is that it is more important to educate boys rather than girls,” Alan said. “This thinking needs to change.”

“These long-held prejudices seriously underestimate the importance of education for girls,” he said.

Data from the Ministry of National Education showed in 2002 that at the primary school level, out of every 10 children who dropped out, six were girls. At senior secondary schools, it was seven girls for every three boys.

The International Labor Organization figures show that 218 million children globally were trapped in the workforce in 2004. For children aged 5 to 11, girls make up 51 percent while among those aged 12-14, boys are at 55 percent with girls at 45 percent.

Boulton said education was the most effective and desirable way to eliminate child labor. “Educated girls are more likely to have better incomes as adults, marry later, have fewer and healthier children, and to ensure that their own children are educated, helping to avoid future increases in child labor,” he said.

Arum Ratnawati, the national chief adviser of the ILO’s International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC), said the ILO would cooperate with the government, stakeholders and nongovernmental organizations to address the issue.

“We are going to give technical assistance and encourage the government to make policies that respond to this issue,” Arum said. “We hope by commemorating the World Day Against Child Labor, we will remember the plight of child laborers and what we can do to tackle this problem.”

The ILO and nongovernmental organizations plan to hold a rally titled “Give Girls a Chance — End Child Labor” on June 21 starting from Atma Jaya University and the Ministry of National Education offices and finishing at South Plaza in the Bung Karno Stadium.

Child labor not only hinders education but also plays a negative role in the mental and physical development of children. Under government regulations based on the ratification of ILO Convention No. 138, children under 15 should not be working.

“Because it’s election time, I think it’s worth making a point about child labor,” Boulton said. “It’s not just a matter of increasing law enforcement to prevent child labor, it’s a matter of having integrated policies to deal with the issue.”