The eradication of child marriage is an important and acknowledged challenge for global policy. A child marriage is defined as a marriage or union of a girl or boy under the age of 18 (UNICEF, 2017). Whereas child marriage is a human rights violation and affects both genders, it affects girls disproportionately (UNICEF 2014). It is quite often the consequence of an entrenched gender inequality especially in South Asian countries. The disproportionate impact of
Child Rights in Focus
In a joint initiative, the Centre for Human Rights and the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative partnered with Axis Law Chambers to produce a comprehensive report. The Strategic Litigation Report delves into federal and provincial legislation, as well as judicial precedents, pertaining to marriage rights and family laws in Pakistan. Through meticulous analysis, the report highlights key areas that strategic litigation can address, such as the establishment of a uniform minimum age
The “Federal Sexual Violence Response Framework” (FSVRF) is a comprehensive compendium that outlines primary, secondary, and tertiary responses to incidents of sexual violence. This unique framework provides concrete actions for relevant government functionaries and civil society organizations, covering prevention, victim protection, prosecution of sexual offenses, and victim rehabilitation. The FSVRF takes into account various legislative interventions, such as the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act 2021, and consolidates relevant legislation, judicial guidelines, and good practices
In the wake of the devastating 2022 monsoon floods in Sindh, The Knowledge Forum (TKF), in partnership with the Sindh chapter of the National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR), has conducted a rapid assessment to document the plight and champion the rights of the affected vulnerable communities, with a special focus on children, who are often the most impacted in such calamities. This assessment aims to shed light on the urgent needs and rights of
The initial findings from a post-mortem report on August 20, 2023 revealed that the Khairpur housemaid, whose death occurred under mysterious circumstances, had been subjected to a sexual assault. This was reported by Daily Dawn on August 21, 2023. Dr. Irshad Memon, the Director General of Health Services, stated that a six-member team conducted the post-mortem examination of the nine-year-old domestic worker after her body was exhumed. The cause of the girl’s death is
This Rapid Assessment examines child labour at automobile repair workshops in Pakistan, with a view to providing updated information on its magnitude, identifying factors that push children into this form of child labour and reviewing national efforts to address the phenomenon. Based on its findings, it offers recommendations for policy design, implementation and action by stakeholders to eliminate and prevent child labour in automobile repair workshops. The assessment was commissioned by the International Labour
14-year-old Rizwana was allegedly subjected to brutal torment over a sustained period of some six months by her employer in Islamabad. When her parents received Rizwana, the child was in critical condition. They went to the police station to lodge a first information report (FIR) against the employer, the wife of a civil judge . After showing reluctance, Islamabad police registered the FIR on July 26. Initially, the police booked the employer for criminal
Mahira Khan has raised her voice for all victims of child labour — calling the practice illegal, wrong and unethical. In a video shared by fellow actor Nadia Jamil on Twitter, Khan made an appeal to people to stop encouraging child labour and to raise their voices against the abuse of child labourers. Her plea comes after the brutal torture of a teenage girl named Rizwana who worked as a maid in Islamabad. Somia Asim, the
Hailing from Gharo, Lachmi, aged two months and weighing just eight kilogrammes, was brought to our clinic by her very worried mother, who reported that she was not able to breastfeed Lachmi as she could not afford meals most days. Lachmi underwent various tests before being diagnosed with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). She was given 12 sachets of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) regularly for a few weeks, after which Lachmi returned with significant improvements
Police in the G-15 sector of Islamabad have apprehended a woman on allegations of subjecting her 13-year-old domestic helper to torture. As stated by law enforcement officials, the accused individual, who is linked with an online business enterprise, was detained based on accusations raised by the maid’s mother, Khalida Bibi, hailing from Chiniot in Punjab. The accused was brought before a magistrate’s court and subsequently sent to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi under judicial custody.
This Rapid Assessment examines children’s involvement in waste-picking activities within Pakistan. Conducted under the auspices of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Asia Regional Child Labour (ARC) Project, this assessment illuminates the factors driving children’s involvement in waste-picking, their socio-demographic backgrounds, their working conditions, the risks they encounter, and the consequences these circumstances impose on them. The findings are a composite of secondary data acquired through an extensive desk review and primary data garnered through
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has approved the much-awaited Juvenile Justice System Rules 2023 to make the 2018 juvenile law fully operational for benefitting child offenders. The rules, prepared by the provincial home and tribal affairs department, include detail provisions about different important aspects of the Juvenile Justice System Act, 2018. An official said that the provincial caretaker cabinet gave approval to the rules in its meeting on Wednesday night. The rules would be notified