Perspective - Page 17

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.…

Pakistan’s Children

THE National Commission on the Rights of the Child recently published its first-ever report of data, challenges and recommendations on the State of Children in Pakistan, 2024. While the state of child rights remains dismal in Pakistan, this government-owned reflective report is a welcome change from the time when similar…

Wounded Childhood

PAKISTAN is unkind to its children. The NCRC’s State of Children in Pakistan Report 2024 scans the grim circumstances our young are forced to navigate, and spells out the systemic apathy towards their safety, health and progress. It asserts that the country faces tremendous difficulties in safeguarding the rights of…

A Gentler World

APRIL 30 was the International Day to End Corporal Punishment — one that could slip into obscurity unless pulled into the light with the urgency required to end cyclical, intergenerational violence. In workshops with teachers in Islamabad Capital Territory, a question of interest has been whether they themselves experienced classroom-based…

Protect Our Children

As the World takes cognisance of the International Day to End Corporal Punishment of Children which falls today (April 30), the question again arises: where does Pakistan stand in protecting its children from being beaten in institutional settings? Pakistan’s issue is two-pronged. One, it houses the world’s second-largest out-of-school children’s…

Underspending Climate Funds

PAKISTAN’S inability to efficiently utilise allocated development funds is severely hampering our economic progress and climate resilience efforts. With more than $2 billion underspent annually, the country’s absorption capacity has become a critical bottleneck. Instead of reforming archaic processes, we have begun to blame our malaise on the absence of…

Mother Earth Is In A Serious Trouble

THE International Mother Earth Day, observed every year on April 22, is in many ways an acknowledgement that we are entirely reliant on everything that happens on Earth, and, therefore, we need to make sustainable contributions that strengthen our relationship with the planet we inhabit. But, is a single day…

Right to Children’s Identity in Pakistan

The right of children to identity is globally recognised, with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child emphasising its critical importance. As a signatory to this convention, Pakistan is committed to upholding and protecting this right. Yet for many children in the country, access to legal identity…

Inept Exam Boards

In many countries, exams are minimally supervised, but penalties for getting caught are extremely high The integrity of education boards across Sindh has come into question in light of recently uncovered irregularities and controversial decisions regarding marking in exams. Meanwhile, reports of rampant cheating by students raise questions not only…

Child Crime and Charity

The greater part of the Juvenile Justice System Act, 2018, which repealed the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000, deals with the reintegration of the child offenders in society instead of shunning them as an outcaste. Philanthropy can prove helpful in achieving this goal of juvenile justice as demonstrated in the…

Adopted Children Face Uncertain Futures

Children given in the custody of childless couples are vulnerable to mistreatment LAHORE. Till date, Pakistan has not been able to devise formal legislation on the practice of child adoption, despite the fact that a significant number of married couples are given temporary custody of abandoned children each year. As…