perspective-child rights - Page 14

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…

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…

The Role of Parents in Shaping Pakistan’s Education Future

PAKISTAN’S education system faces significant challenges on two fronts. Firstly, there is…

How many more children will we sacrifice?

Nazir left home in a fury to locate his 12-year-old son, Shaheer,…

Child Protection

A FEW weeks ago, an 11-year-old girl in Karachi was kidnapped, tortured, raped, and murdered. Her body was discarded in a garbage dump. The Sindh Police responded swiftly, and apprehended the suspect. The culprit may face justice. But is this the end of the story? Unfortunately, such horrifying incidents are…

Ghost Schools

KARACHI: Apropos the letter “Ghost Teachers” published on September 19, 2024, the issue of ghost schools is another sad reality in Pakistan’s education system. These schools exist only in name, with buildings left abandoned and teachers still collecting salaries without fulfilling their responsibilities. However, the problem goes beyond just missing…

EDUCATION: THE STATE OF SCHOOLING IN PAKISTAN

With nearly 67 percent of its population below the age of 30, Pakistan stands as one of the youngest nations in the world. This vast youth bulge presents us with a golden opportunity to capitalise on a potential “demographic dividend,” while also presenting the challenge of providing adequate services, jobs…

Schools And Climate

AS a mother of two school-going children, the record-breaking heatwave experienced in Karachi this year has heightened my concern about the growing impact of climate change on our children’s health, safety, and education. According to the Asian Development Bank, heatwave days in Pakistan increased by 31 days annually between 1980…

Malnutrition Epidemic

MALNUTRITION has been a primary factor in Pakistan’s disease burden for many years. Recently, the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus, along with representatives from Unicef and Fafen, observed that malnutrition costs Pakistan approximately 3pc of its GDP and highlighted the country’s status as the second highest in diabetic patients, laying significant emphasis…

What Mpox Means For Our Children

The modern world is getting increasingly smaller and interconnected. Whether a newsbreak or a viral outbreak, it travels across continents in the blink of an eye. Just as we were beginning to breathe easier after Covid-19, another virus has silently made its way across our border and made its presence felt. Mpox,…

Child Rights Crisis

As the planet bakes in the hottest summer ever, with each passing month warmer than the last, the climate crisis is depriving children of some of their basic human rights and reducing opportunities for them to secure and live a decent life. Extreme weather events linked to climate change disproportionately…

Babies Galore

OURS is a society where parents start planning their daughter’s marriage soon after she is born. Here the social compulsion for couples to prove their fertility is so great that they have their first child within a year or so after tying the knot. Worse still, women are desperate to…

Conference of Parties (COP) in Pakistan

As the climate crisis continues to escalate, the pressure to implement sectoral policies will also increase. It is often said that climate change is multi-sectoral therefore making it difficult to implement policies after the 18th Amendment. However, beyond that, no mention is made of how to bridge the gap between…

Climate-driven Child Marriages

The prevalence of child marriages in certain parts of Pakistan, as exemplified by the recent reports of 45 underage girls being married off in Khan Muhammad Mallah village of Dadu in Sindh province, is utterly unacceptable. The directive issued by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to launch a thorough investigation…