The Sindh Child Labour Survey 2022–23, based on data from nearly 57,000 households across 29 districts, provides a detailed view of children’s living conditions, schooling, and work. It finds that only two-thirds of children aged 5–17 attend school, with significant gender and rural–urban gaps. Around 12% of children
THE world rightly sees child domestic workers as modern slaves, while domestic labour is categorised as informal work, or invisible labour. In July 2022, a qualitative study by the International Labour Organisation revealed that one in every four Pakistani households employs a minor, showing a predominance of girls
The National Commission on the Rights of Child (NCRC) advanced major child protection reforms in 2024–2025, including the drafting of the Prohibition of Child Labour in Domestic Work Bill 2024 and advocacy for harmonizing the minimum marriage age at 18 years across all provinces. The Commission launched the
The brick kiln industry in Pakistan continues to violate human rights, deeply affecting vulnerable groups such as women and children through bonded labour and exploitation. Despite legal measures and international commitments, these abuses persist, especially in Punjab, which has more than half of Pakistan’s brick kilns and around
The concerns regarding forced conversion are not a new phenomenon in our part of the world. Almost a century ago the All India Muslim League chalked out the rules for conversion in this region. The All India Muslim League adopted a resolution in December, 1927 at Calcutta which
Pakistan is home to over 53 million boys under 18, forming a significant part of its 106 million child population. Yet, challenges remain acute: nearly 27% of boys aged 5–16 are out of school, and an estimated 3.4 million children are engaged in child labour, with boys forming
Policymakers in Pakistan appear to be in a deep slumber, unmoved by one of the most pressing human rights crises festering within the country. A new study launched last week by the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), titled ‘Unveiling Exploitation and Abuse in the Brick Kilns of
The Balochistan Child Labour Survey (BCLS) 2023 provides unique information about the living conditions of children in the province as well as their daily activities, including schooling, working, and household chores. The survey employed a two-stage stratified sampling strategy to ensure district-level representativeness across urban and rural areas.
Pakistani children aren’t safe. That’s not opinion or exaggeration. It’s the bleak, burning truth we keep looking away from. They’re ignored, exploited, brutalised and abandoned on every possible front. But don’t think for a second the numbers in this piece tell the whole story. For every reported case,
The report Legal Aid Mapping and Policy Reform on Child Protection in the Brick Kiln Industry, produced by PILER and the Sindh Human Rights Commission, explores child and bonded labour in Sindh’s brick kilns and the gaps in legal aid and justice. Despite existing laws and international commitments
The National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) submitted an alternative report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child as part of Pakistan’s 6th periodic review under the UNCRC. The report highlights key child rights concerns in Pakistan, focusing on child marriage, juvenile justice, and child
The Islamabad Capital Territory Child Labour Survey (ICTCLS) 2023–2024 offers valuable insights into the living conditions and daily lives of children in the territory, covering aspects such as education, work, and household responsibilities. To ensure representation at the district level across both urban and rural areas, the survey