Many times, people will have gone through this rhetoric that children are the future of Pakistan. It is a common catch-word that is heeded from the mouths of politicians and citizens when they come to address the public. They say this catch-word with such confidence to show that they are not aware of the condition of children in the country. But, they are fully aware of what conditions really the children are bearing in Pakistan.
Children in Pakistan are under the dark clouds of many forms of violence, such as physical, psychological, sexual, moral, and exploitation of child trafficking.
Pakistan is the most populous country, which is ranked as the fifth most populous country in the world. Its population is estimated to be 225.200 million as of July 1, 2021. Out of this population, 80 million are children which is the 34% of the total population. This bulk of the population of children has an influence on the progress of the country, where the country is not competitive in ensuring the basic rights of children.
Pakistan is not defensible by any perspective of its children’s rights. No right is fully and properly provided to the children at the central and provincial levels, whether it is the right to education, health, food security, pure drinking water, and willing marriages.
Unfortunately, only 20.88% of Pakistani teenagers live in the urban areas and have some access to these fundamental rights, and the major chunk of children are the habitants of rural areas and are unable to get their rights such as adequate food, clean water and better health services.
Moreover, the literacy rate of Pakistan is meagre as compared to other South Asian countries, and currently has the world’s second-largest number of out-of-school children (OOSC) with an estimated 22.8 million children aged 5-16 and representing 44 per cent of the total population. Among these out-of-school children, the girls are a majority.
Furthermore, sufficient nutrition is a basic need of every child, as nutrition keeps a child physically and mentally healthy, but unfortunately, Pakistan is not a country to ensure sufficient nutrition to its children because more than half of the country’s population lives under the poverty line.
To add more, the early marriages of children are also one of the main violations that violate the rights of children. According to Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey(PDHS) 2017-2018, 3.6 per cent of girls under the age of 15 are married off, while 18.3 per cent of girls married off are under 18. However, UNICEF Reports that 21 per cent of Pakistani girls are married by the age of 18, and three per cent before 15 years of age. These early marriages are the big hurdle for young aged girls and boys to flourish in their future.
Hence, on these offences of children’s rights, if still, the policymakers and who that is in the regime will say the children are the future of Pakistan, so this is their irrational approach, not a rational one, and this approach would be a threat to the future of Pakistan.
- Comatose Nation - 05/04/2023
- Children: Future of Pakistan - 17/01/2023
