perspective-child rights - Page 7

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…

Transport For Schooling

A JUDGE at the Lahore High Court recently ordered that schools should arrange for and organise transport for schoolchildren by the end of the winter break. The order came in the hearings on the case about smog in Lahore. The use of public transport for schooling is expected to reduce vehicular traffic…

The Age Of Consent And The Borders Of Belief

ICT Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2025 marks a pivotal step toward a…

Ghost Schools

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

Educational Gaps

Matriculation and intermediate examinations in Sindh have long been rampant with allegations of bribery-related corruption, mismanagement and thriving cheating networks. And it seems that the Sindh government is least bothered about reforms at a foundational level, instead engaging in rolling out modern initiatives that are akin to concealing real issues.…

Abandoned Newborns

Earlier this month, a newborn baby was found abandoned in a garbage bin in Lahore’s Allama Iqbal Town. Police have been informed, and legal proceedings are expected, though the baby’s condition remains undisclosed. For a society that claims reverence for life, the image of a newborn discarded among refuse should…

HIV Negligence

Medical negligence in Pakistan is often discussed in the abstract — as a system failure, a resource constraint or an unfortunate by-product of poverty. But when nearly 4,000 children in Sindh are living with HIV, many of them infected not at birth or through personal behaviour but in healthcare facilities meant…

Unlearning Old Ways

PAKISTAN’s education system has struggled to evolve beyond traditional patterns where reproduction is prioritised over the application of knowledge and skills. Thinkers such as John Dewey and Paulo Freire have long argued that education should connect classrooms with lived realities, and be outcome-oriented. An Outcome-Based Education system (OBE) has gained…

Stray Dogs, Unsafe Streets, and Forgotten Children

A few days ago, I watched a boy no older than 10 or 12 dragging a sack of garbage larger than his own body. He was doing what thousands of children across Pakistan do every day, collecting recyclable waste to earn a living. Suddenly, several street dogs began barking. Moments…

Rising Divorce Drives Daily Child Visits

RAWALPINDI: With the close of 2025, a record and alarming increase has been witnessed in meetings between divorced parents and their separated children at the family facilitation centre of the Rawalpindi Judicial Complex. The rise, which continued throughout the year on a monthly basis, is primarily attributed to the growing…

Pregnancy Without Protection: Pakistan’s Struggle with Population Growth and Maternal Health

35-year-old Gul Rukh Bibi still remembers the silence that followed the birth of her eighth child: there were no congratulations, no whispered prayers, no relatives arriving with sweets. Only the quiet certainty that her life was about to change. Her husband had warned her months earlier that another daughter would…

Golden Children

On the global stage, human statues are performance artists who usually stand motionless at city centres for purposes of arts and entertainment. But this trend, cloaked under the guise of street performance, has been exported to Pakistan and particularly Karachi in borderline abusive conditions. At various junctions across the city,…

Violence Without Touch

Pakistan has experienced rapid growth in internet access, smartphone usage, and engagement on digital platforms. While this expansion has created new opportunities for communication, employment, and civic participation, it has also been accompanied by a marked rise in online threats, harassment, and technology-facilitated offences. The increasing number of complaints submitted…

Rabies Danger

RABIES has consistently emerged as a lethal yet overlooked health concern. Reportedly, the scourge took 22 lives in Sindh this year. Figures from three tertiary care hospitals in Karachi reveal an alarming spike in dog-bite incidents, taking the year’s reported tally to over 42,000 cases. The Indus Hospital recorded over…