parenting - Page 9

Enhanced Form B Introduced With Security Features For Children Aged 10+

ISLAMABAD: On the instructions of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, it was decided on 01-January-2025 to introduce Form B with special security features for children above the age of 10 for the first time in history. As part of these new security features, fingerprints and photographs of children aged 10 and above will now be mandatory for Form B. The issuance…

The Role of Parents in Shaping Pakistan’s Education Future

PAKISTAN’S education system faces significant challenges on two fronts. Firstly, there is a staggering number of out-of-school children, estimated at 26.2 million. This means that a sizeable portion of the children are not accessing any formal education. Economic factors, cultural barriers, and inadequate infrastructure are the primary reasons. For instance,…

Federal Health Minister Urges Action As Vaccination Refusals Hindering Polio Eradication

Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal has expressed serious concern over vaccine…

Man Burns Pregnant Wife, Two Minor Sons To Death

HYDERABAD: A pregnant woman and her two minor sons had died in…

A Smartphone Before Age 12 Could Carry Health Risks, Study Says

WASHINGTON: Children who are given smartphones before the age of 12 are more likely to develop certain health problems, researchers report. According to a piece published by the journal Pediatrics, kids studied at age 12 were at a 1.3 times higher risk of depression, a 1.6 times higher risk of…

How Many More Mouths can Pakistan Afford to Feed?

• Planning minister warns country could reach 370m by 2050, with annual addition of 4-4.5m people — equivalent to New Zealand’s population • Population Council chief highlights need for better population management, notes nearly half of 12.7m pregnancies are ‘unwanted or mistimed’ • After leading both countries until 1990, Pakistan’s…

Over 42,000 Kids Miss Measles-Rubella Shots

RAWALPINDI: Health authorities failed to vaccinate 42,681 children for measles and rubella in Rawalpindi district. However, the 13-day measles and rubella vaccination campaign concluded with 96 per cent of the target achieved. One case of an adverse reaction to the vaccine was reported; however, the child’s condition stabilised swiftly. Some…

No End to Child Marriages Despite Legislation

PESHAWAR: At just 13, Aleeza (name changed to protect privacy) wanted to play with peers and live a carefree life, but like many girls of that age, a marriage proposal came knocking on her family’s door. The little girl’s aunt approached her mother, suggesting to marry her off five years…

Man Gets Life Term for Rape of Stepdaughter

LAHORE: A special anti-rape court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting his minor stepdaughter and also imposed a compensation of Rs300,000 on him under the Anti-Rape (Investigation & Trial) Act 2021. Manawan police had registered a rape FIR against Farooq Maqbool on Jan 2, 2024 on…

Digital Violence is Real Violence

Violence against women remains among the most pervasive and least prosecuted human rights violations in the world. For decades, this violence occurred mainly in homes, workplaces, streets or institutions. Today, it has expanded into a new and far more complex frontier: the digital realm. As the country and the world…

Rampant Drug Abuse

THE rising abuse of an anticonvulsant medication in the market is destroying the lives of the country’s youth. The drug, whose generic name is pregabalin and which is available under different brand names, decreases the number of pain signals that are sent out by damaged nerves in the body. Young…

Police find ‘Kidnapped’ Girl Eloped to Afghanistan

NAROWAL: The district police have concluded that a 16-year-old girl, who was allegedly kidnapped, has eloped to Afghanistan on her own free will. According to details, Abdul Haq, a labourer in Sialkot, complained to the police that on Oct 27, his 16-year-old daughter Samina went out of the house to…

Teenage Boy Dies by ‘Suicide’

KARACHI: A teenage boy died by suicide in a Saddar locality on November 14, police said. Preedy SHO Ayub Mirani said that Shoaib, 16, ended his own life by shooting himself at his home on Akbar Road near DC Street. He said the parents of the boy had gone to…

Sindh Offers Free Birth Control Counseling App

KARACHI: With around 3.6 million abortions occurring annually in Pakistan, the Sindh Population Welfare Department has launched an online application designed to offer free and confidential guidance on contraceptive methods and reproductive health. The initiative seeks to address the challenges faced by couples who are reluctant to visit family planning…