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 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
LAST month, I travelled through Pakistan’s four provinces to oversee UNFPA projects and initiatives. I also engaged with partners to get their perspectives on development amid the recent geopolitical and funding challenges. During these visits, I connected with various partners, officials and intellectuals. One particularly moving — and
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 policy paper analyzes the newly enacted Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2025, which sets 18 years as the minimum legal age of marriage for all genders. It highlights the Act’s progressive legal reforms, such as stricter penalties, protection measures, and alignment with international human rights
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 Supreme Court recently issued a verdict advocating equal rights in marriage. The verdict originated from an appeal filed by a divorced couple opposing the dower provisions in the nikahnama. The female petitioner had challenged an earlier Lahore High Court judgement, which maintained that entries in the nikahnama
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
In the quiet courtyards of rural Pakistan, a 13-year-old girl is pulled from her school desk and handed a bridal dress. Her childhood ends not with celebration, but with chores, early pregnancy, and a silence enforced by custom. This is not a regional anomaly; it is a national
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
SOME traditions that hinder individual progress are a heavy cross for society to bear. In Pakistan’s deeply patriarchal environment, where a female child’s agency is determined by her biological age, President Asif Zardari’s assent to the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill, 2025, despite resistance from the
“State of Human Rights in 2024” is a report of Human Right Commission of Pakistan, which provides a comprehensive overview of the human rights situation in Pakistan during the specified year at federal and provincial levels. The report highlights various issues such as a surge in violence, marked