Perspective

Insights From the 2023 Census Report

The 2023 Census conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics released its complete report in July 2024 indicates that the total population of Pakistan is 240 million out of which the population of children under 18 is 112 Million (47% of the total population). Children Population (under 18) Population under 18 Total Male Female Transgender Pakistan 112,472,700 58,099,978 54,370,121 2,601…

Permitted age for employment of children as domestic workers

Do you know what the minimum age is for children in the different provinces of Pakistan to be employed as domestic workers? Child labour is a provincial subject in Pakistan after the 18th Constitutional Amendment in 2010. The 18th Constitutional Amendment devolved the issue of labour and employment to the…

Juvenile Offenders in Punjab

The total number of convicted and undertrial juveniles imprisoned in various borstal…

Transport For Schooling

A JUDGE at the Lahore High Court recently ordered that schools should arrange for…

Preventable Deaths

THE deaths of 144 children from measles and diphtheria in Karachi during the first seven months of the year expose a grave failure of routine immunisation. That failure is evident in the large number of children who receive their earliest vaccines but are never brought back for the doses needed…

Climate & Lactation

EVERY year in August, Breastfeeding Week arrives with the same kind of messaging all over the media: ‘breastfeeding is best’. That is where the conversation begins and ends. This year, the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, alongside Unicef and the WHO, has deliberately questioned the math behind it all, instead…

Protect the Children

Last Sunday at around 11pm, I went to a restaurant about two miles from my home with my wife and children for dinner. As we sat waiting for our meal, two little girls, who appeared to be between 10 and 12 years old, approached our table carrying crunchy Papadom. They…

Unplanned Future

A PROJECTION that Pakistan’s population could reach 400m by 2040 should not be treated as another dramatic number to be quoted at ceremonies and forgotten by the next budget. It is a warning about the size of the state’s future obligations. Every additional child will need vaccination, nutrition, schooling, safe…

The Early Years

PARENTS want the very best for their children. That is never in question. But wanting the best and knowing what the best is are two different things, and in the early years of a child’s life, the impact of that difference can have consequences that are difficult to undo. In…

HIV Warning

THE HIV infections detected around two SESSI-run hospitals in Karachi demand far more than another hurried committee and a seven-day report. Ten people have tested positive near the Landhi facility, while screening around Valika Hospital has identified 120 cases, including children. These figures do not by themselves prove hospital transmission;…

Drowning the Future

THE floods are visiting us again. The death toll will be counted within days. The damage to roads, bridges and embankments will be tallied within weeks and translated into a dollar figure. Expect this assessment to dominate the coverage. It is legitimate but a wrong ledger regardless. The real casualty…

The Lost School Culture After Covid-19

All those who used to attend school before 2020 can relate to many things. Covid-19 was a major disruptor that entirely changed the routine and productivity of human life. When I was doing my matriculation in a government school, we used to attend a daily strict exercise and prayer routine…

Child Marriage

A FEW days after I helped prevent the marriage, my phone rang. It was Sumaiya, or Dadli, as she is more commonly known. I have known her since she was very little. She is shy and soft-spoken, the kind of girl who quietly laughs with her cousins and loves carrying…

A Brief on Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse in Pakistan

I. Understanding child protection Child protection, as generally understood under various federal and provincial acts of Pakistan, refers to the prevention and response to violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect experienced by children. It encompasses the systems, services, and legal mechanisms that are put in place to identify children at risk…

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