perspective- child protection - Page 7

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 juvenile offenders. All juvenile offenders were male and no female…

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…

Missing Priya Kumari

The disturbing case of missing seven-year-old Priya Kumari has sparked a wave…

Child Marriages – A Vicious Cycle of Poverty and Abuse

KARACHI: Despite being illegal, child marriages continue to affect millions of young…

Anti-rape ordinance

THE much-anticipated Anti-Rape Ordinance 2020 introduced chemical castration as punishment for rapists. In doing so, however, it missed the very critical point that rape is not merely a physical act, and that it is triggered by many serious social and psychological conditions. More stringent measures are required to deter such…

Future of Flood Affected Children in Sindh

WHILE the elites are locked in an internecine power struggle, millions of flood-affected, homeless and destitute citizens have been left to fend for themselves. Most of these wretched families have been practically forced to cater to their own needs — food, shelter, health and above all, the education of their psychologically…

Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 and Jinnah

The Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 was drafted by Quaid-i-Azam- Mohammad Ali Jinnah (Father of the Nation) and introduced by a Hindu, Rai Haridas Sarda, and is also known as the Sarda Bill. Jinnah was very concerned about the widespread child marriage in British India, which he considered a violation…

Child marriage and religion

Enactment and enforcement of legislation against child marriage has repeatedly run into resistance that claims religious authority. Overcoming this resistance will require a wider intellectual engagement with the foundations and structure of religious thought. Consider. The latest report on Pakistan, based on figures contained in the Unicef database 2016, issued…

Bystander Behaviour on CSA

Child sexual abuse is prevalent worldwide. Several studies have been conducted to identify the traits common to those who perpetrate it, but results indicate that the latter come from all socioeconomic backgrounds, races, gender, religions and literacy levels. While some may have a condition called paedophilia, which is a sexual…

The Juvenile Justice System Act of 2018

On May 18 2018, the President of Pakistan approved the Juvenile Justice System Act (JJSA) 2018, which was passed by the Parliament in 2018. JJSA 2018 overcomes the shortcomings which were present in Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000, and provides a much better system for criminal justice and social reintegration…

Why do children want to stay on the streets?

WHY would children, given an option, ever want to stay on the streets? This question arose when speaking to staff from a reputable organisation in Peshawar, with decades of experience in outreach and rehabilitation for children who live or work on the streets. It takes special skills to engage with…

A solution for millions of out-of-school children?

According to a UNICEF report, around 22.8 million children between the ages of five to16 are out of school in Pakistan. Unsurprisingly, these kids can neither read nor write, as a result of which they are labelled as illiterate or uneducated. Some scholars believe that such labelling is unjustified because children…