Perspective - Page 16

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…

Juvenile Offenders in Punjab

The total number of convicted and undertrial juveniles imprisoned in various borstal institutes and jails of Punjab province was 645 as on 15 March 2022 (Prisons Department, Govt. of Punjab). Out of the total number of juvenile offenders, 81% (523) juveniles were on trial (under trial) and 19% were convicted…

Grace Marks by Sindh Government

In a move as surprising as it is contentious, the Sindh provincial…

deficiencies in Pakistan's education system

The Impact of Pakistan’s Education System

What PM Shehbaz Sharif blurted out recently isn’t quite a national secret.…

Are Schools Ignoring a Bullying Epidemic?

Mrs Arshad’s son, Aalyan, was subjected to bullying at a private school when he was 14 years old. ‘My child was traumatised to the extent that he refused to go back to school, and for two years we have been homeschooling him,’ she reveals. He could not sleep for a…

Autism and SDGs

The 2024 observance of World Autism Day is aligned with the implementation status and progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition representing human evolution and neurodiversity among all world populations. The SDGs are universally agreed goals adopted in 2015 by the UN to bridge economic disparities…

Support for boys in Pakistan

NO, the article is not about the ‘boys’ often referred to in Pakistan. It is actually about schooling and the need to think about the support that boys also need in schools. We still have a significant gender gap in enrolments in schools in Pakistan, and it persists across the…

Laws and domestic workers

ON assuming power after his landslide victory in West Pakistan in the 1970 elections, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto introduced five labour welfare laws and brought in amendments in other laws applicable to industrial and commercial establishments. These laws pertained to the education of workers’ children, the constitution of a workers’ welfare…

Human Trafficking in Pakistan

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in monetary discontent and absence of opportunities, are forced into scenarios that put their safety in peril. The recent horror show of trafficking saw smugglers cash in on Pakistani immigrants, desperate to…

Is playtime a luxury for children and youth?

Urban children often engage in tuition or schoolwork, while rural children spend more time with family Imagine a perfect world, where every child can enjoy boundless playtime after school. What if children everywhere could freely engage in their favourite activities? What if they all had access to fun and educational…

Death Mines

Not just the first such incident, and will not be the last unless stringent labour protection measures are put to practice. Another coalmine incident, in Harnai district of Balochistan, claimed the lives of a dozen workers on 20 March 2024. Hundreds of miners die from mining accidents in Pakistan every…

The Case for Teaching Punjabi in Schools

THE chief minister of Punjab, Ms Maryam Nawaz, has said that Punjabi will be taught across schools in the province. This was announced at the Punjab Culture Day ceremony last week. It is a welcome announcement. Some 80 million people speak Punjabi in Pakistan and, worldwide, Punjabi speakers number around…

Unveiling Deepfakes

Laila* first met Adeel* at a fine dining restaurant along the coastline of Karachi city, after eight months of online dating on Instagram. She was then 20, he 21. The two talked for hours as the golden sun set, meeting the horizon of the sea. Laila described Adeel as the…

Combatting human trafficking

Human trafficking in Pakistan is a severe and multifaceted problem that has affected countless individuals, particularly women and girls, coerced into exploitative labour or sexual servitude under the false pretences of better opportunities. The issue presents a dire humanitarian crisis, as it inflicts immeasurable suffering upon its victims and greatly…