perspective-child rights - Page 2

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…

Ghost Schools

KARACHI: Apropos the letter “Ghost Teachers” published on September 19, 2024, the…

New Polio Cases

The number of polio cases recorded this year continues to tick up, with the ninth and tenth cases confirmed this week. After several years of bouncing between double-digit caseloads and then coming within touching distance of eradication, Pakistan remains a concern for international bodies and donors — and many local experts…

Measles Claim Territory In District East

With no vaccination drive conducted this year, the latest outbreak continues to threaten the safety of children KARACHI: The future of a nation relies heavily on the health and well-being of its children, who must be protected from childhood diseases through rigorous vaccination drives. Unfortunately, in Sindh, where routine immunization…

Autism And Misconceptions About It

The keyword in autism spectrum disorder isn’t ‘autism’, it’s spectrum. Autism isn’t one thing — it’s a wide range of experiences, strengths, and challenges. Some autistic children speak fluently; others may be nonverbal. No two are alike. Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting how a person communicates, relates to others,…

Education And Emergencies

TENSIONS between Pakistan and India have once again led to incursions and attacks. And there are real fears of escalation to a full-scale war between the two countries that have nuclear weapons. India attacked several places early on 7th May. Given the situation, the Islamabad and Punjab governments announced the closure of…

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…