perspective-health - Page 8

The Age Of Consent And The Borders Of Belief

ICT Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2025 marks a pivotal step toward a safer, progressive Pakistan KARACHI. Child rights organisations and advocates, along with concerned citizens, have warmly welcomed the passage of recent legislation on child marriages, describing it as a landmark step toward protecting the rights and well-being of children. “The passage of the ICT Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2025…

THE SCREEN-TIME TRAP

It’s a common scenario. A parent wants to do some chores or wants some free time for his or her self and the child may be causing disruptions or being clingy. Finding no other way to distract the child, the parent gives his/her smartphone to the child to keep them…

Prevention is Cheaper

Each year, climate-induced disasters cost Pakistan billions of dollars and push millions…

Glaucoma for Children

A nice year old Hajra visited the paediatric ophthalmology department at our…

Undoing a Mother’s Rights

AS our collective consciousness untangles itself from stories and headlines dense with ‘downed Rafale jets’ and ‘mun torr jawabs’, one must turn to recent Supreme Court judgements as a sobering reminder of how crucial the fight for social justice is. Deep within the shadows of societal shame is a segment…

Climate change: Students’ Woes

This will have a profound impact on long-term outcomes It is not just flooding or other disasters that are taking a toll on our schoolchildren. Increasing extreme weather events are making school a dangerous place to be for several weeks out of the year. The searing classrooms of Lahore and…

Criminalising Child Marriage

CHILD marriage persists in Pakistan for many reasons, and ending the practice requires measures that are sensitive to the problem’s complexity. Debates on child marriage tend to reduce this complexity to two opposing legal positions. Proponents of gender equality and child welfare support higher minimum age limits for child marriage…

Measles Outbreak

Measles is not a new disease. Nor is its prevention a mystery. The future of any nation rests in the hands of its children — a truth so self-evident, it should never need repeating. Yet in Pakistan, and particularly in Sindh, we are reminded all too often that the most basic…

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,…

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…

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…