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…

How many more children will we sacrifice?

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

Regional Climate Risks

WE in South Asia are the children of the monsoon, as described by David Jiménez in his 2008 book. While governments may not always recognise it, we are bound by an ecosystem that inextricably links our resilience through shared climate realities from one end of South Asia to the other.…

Footing the Climate Bill

Much of the debate surrounding the ongoing monsoon floods has centred around whether the state is doing or has done enough to prevent flooding. Do we need more dams? Are the country’s rescue and warning systems good enough? What are we going to do to rehabilitate the victims and why…

Potential to Prosperity

EVERY $1 invested in nutrition yields $23 in economic returns according to global studies. This is particularly true when that investment happens early, from conception to two years of age, when the brain and body grow at their fastest, requiring adequate amounts of essential nutrients. The returns are real: they…

Tackling Polio

Pakistan has once again launched a nationwide polio eradication campaign, aiming to vaccinate more than 28 million children under the age of five across 99 districts. In just the first five days (the campaign started last Monday), 18 million children were vaccinated – a promising figure, but still short of…

Between Books and Screens

A SCHOOL administrator recently remarked in a tone of resignation that these days many parents would rather have their children remain occupied with academic work than risk letting them venture outside. “The world beyond the gate,” she said, “is no longer safe.” Streets feel more chaotic, parks feel less secure,…

Prevention is Cheaper

Each year, climate-induced disasters cost Pakistan billions of dollars and push millions into deeper poverty. Yet our policies remain stuck in a reactive cycle, waiting for the damage to occur, then scrambling with relief. This approach is not only costly but also destructive to development gains. Prevention is smarter in…

Our Antibiotic Crisis

Antibiotics are among humanity’s most remarkable discoveries, emerging unexpectedly over the past century. The credit for this groundbreaking development goes to the Scottish physician and microbiologist, Alexander Fleming, who was studying fungi in 1928 when he inadvertently discovered what we now know as antibiotics. Following the discovery of penicillin, the…

Polio Epicentre

TWO more children have been paralysed by poliovirus in Tank and North Waziristan, bringing Pakistan’s cases this year to 23. Of these, 15 are from KP. This concentration means that the province has become the epicentre of the crisis and that routine responses are failing to turn the tide. With…

Recurring Cases

TWENTY-ONE children have been paralysed by polio in Pakistan this year, the latest two in Kohistan and Badin. Each new case is a painful reminder that we remain one of only two countries where the virus still spreads. That a disease wiped out in most of the world still stalks…

Parent-teacher Bond

TEACHERS and parents are both scrambling to prepare for yet another demanding academic year ahead. However, with the exception of the odd parent orientation at school, they are not engaging in any deep conversations about the students. Most students have not only been out of touch with subject knowledge, they…