Director Shoaib Sultan surprised many by announcing a new film titled “Gunjal,” which focuses on a genre that is rarely explored in Pakistan. While audiences are eagerly awaiting the release of upcoming light-hearted comedy Eid films, Gunjal revisits the murder of child activist Iqbal Masih in 1990s Pakistan. The film stars Ahmed Ali Akbar, Resham, and Aamna Ilyas in lead roles, with Syed Muhammad Ali and Ahmed Ali Butt in supporting roles. Produced by
Child Rights in Focus
The International Labour Organization (ILO) conducted a qualitative study on child labour in the Pakistani domestic work sector as part of the Asia Regional Child Labour (ARC) Project. The study examined the lives of these children engaged in domestic work and looked at micro-level “push” factors such as social support, the home environment and children’s and parents’ attitudes towards child labour. At the meso level, the study identified “pull” factors such as working conditions,
THE sentiment to ‘reimagine’ is commendable. We haven’t done well in many things, and should, if possible, ‘reimagine’ and try to do things better. But reimagining doesn’t mean that the solutions we come up with will be easy or straightforward or quickly implemented for results. ‘Reimagining’ may give solutions that require hard work and lots of time to implement. ‘Simple’ and ‘easy’, in policy space, are often not the best or most-needed solutions. Is
The Gilgit Baltistan Child Labour Survey 2018-2019 is the first child labour survey conducted in the territory of Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. It was conducted as part of a nationwide survey intended to cover all provinces and territories. It addresses the prevalence of child labour in the region, the causes and consequences of child labour, and additional socio-economic indicators that provide information on the living conditions of children in the region as well as
A team of experts from all provinces and federating units has prepared and endorsed a national curriculum for grades 9 to 12, which will soon be presented to the education minister for final approval. The national curriculum for grades 1 to 8 is already in place in most provinces, except for Sindh. However, experts from Sindh have also endorsed the curriculum for grades 9 to 12. It is expected that students in these grades
The Punjab Child Labour Survey (PCLS) 2019-2020 is the second child labour survey in Punjab province, Pakistan, after the national child survey in 1996, and was conducted as part of a nationwide survey with the aim of covering all provinces and territories. The Punjab Child Labour Survey (PCLS) 2019-2020 provides unique insights into the lives of children and adolescents in the province. It also throws light on their daily routines such as school attendance,
Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) is a citizen-led, household-based survey. It was conducted in 2021 during Covid-19 across 152 rural districts of Pakistan assessing the learning outcomes of children aged 5-16 while also collecting information on the impact of the pandemic on learning and other household indicators . The survey gives an overview of the learning competencies (grades 2/3-lower primary) of Pakistan’s children whether in-school or out of school. This survey was conducted
VACCINES are the most cost-effective health care interventions. A dollar spent on a childhood vaccination not only helps save a life, but greatly reduces spending on future healthcare. Ezekiel Emanuel Importance of early childhood vaccination has become somewhat of a universal fact now but somehow Pakistan, a country with 14% of its total population being under-five, is oblivious to this fact. According to UNICEF estimates, the neonatal (newborn) mortality rate for Pakistan in 2021
Mathew is an Urdu language short film whose story revolves around Iqbal Mathew, a 12-year-old house help. The film depicts the issue of inequality between different social classes and that how even relatively moderate and educated families can end up discriminating against and violating the equal citizenry rights of the marginalized members of society. It has been produced as part of Center for Research and Security Studies Paving Pathways to Social Cohesion initiative. Credit:
WHILE the elites are locked in an internecine power struggle, millions of flood-affected, homeless and destitute citizens have been left to fend for themselves. Most of these wretched families have been practically forced to cater to their own needs — food, shelter, health and above all, the education of their psychologically traumatised children. The situation is grave in Sindh where about 20,000 public schools have been destroyed or considerably damaged, depriving hundreds of thousands of
The Islamabad Capital Administration has announced the Rules of the Hindu Marriage Act 2017 titled ‘Islamabad Capital Territory Hindu Marriage Rules 2023’ after more than five years since it came into force, Daily Dawn reported on April 7, 2023. This will enable members of the Hindu minority to perform their marriages in accordance with established rituals. The notification has been forwarded to all Union Councils in the federal territory for implementation. According to the
The total number of convicted and undertrial juveniles imprisoned in various borstal institutes and jails of Punjab province was 645 as on 15 March 2022 (Prisons Department, Govt. of Punjab). Out of the total number of juvenile offenders, 81% (523) juveniles were on trial (under trial) and 19% were convicted juvenile offenders. All juvenile offenders were male and no female was confined in any jail of Punjab. There were also no condemned juvenile offenders,