Two-Thirds of Schoolchildren Iodine Deficient

FAISALABAD, Feb 24: Deficiency of micronutrient malnutrition is one of the major causes of deaths among children and women in Pakistan.

This was claimed in a report jointly launched by the World Health Organization, World Bank, Unicef, USAID and Micronutrient Initiative Pakistan (MIP), at the second day of the three-day international conference on “Recent advances in human nutrition with special reference to vulnerable groups,” at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF). The report titled “Investing in the future: A united call to action on vitamin and mineral deficiencies”.

 
Suicide Centres to Be Turned Into Playgrounds


ISLAMABAD Feb 24: The federal sports ministry said that training centres for suicide bombers in tribal areas would be converted into playing fields and youth in those regions would be motivated to take part in sporting activities.

 
Student Freed After Protest


BATKHELA, Feb 22: A 9th grade student kidnapped from Dargai was recovered by Malakand Levies on Monday a day after protesters took to streets and blocked the GT Road. Unknown kidnappers abducted Alamgir when he was coming home from his shop.

Reacting to the incident armed local people chanting anti-administration slogans came on the road. The procession was led by local ANP. They asked the administration to expose the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

 
Two Brothers Die on Road


LAHORE, Feb 22: Two minor brothers were killed in a road accident in Lahore on Monday.

Protesters blocked Airport Road after a speeding dumper ran over two children, who were riding a motorcycle. Kashif, 13, and brother Shabbir, 9, were returning to their father’s shop when the tragic incident occurred. Around 150 people blocked Airport Road and shouted slogans against the absconding truck driver.

 

Pakistan Ranks 144th in UNDP’s Human Development Index

February 23: Pakistan ranks 144th in UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI), out of total 178 countries. According to UNDP’s HDI report, Pakistan faces enormous challenges, including poverty, poor healthcare facilities, illiteracy and a continuously soaring population.

The government released between 11 to 25 percent funds earmarked for environment, education and health sectors during the first six months of the current fiscal year (July-December), out of the budgetary allocation, which reflects lack of commitment to these critical sectors.

Finance Ministry released Rs 268 million to Environment Ministry for development projects during the first half of current financial year, which was 11.8 percent of the Rs 2.253 billion earmarked for the entire financial year 2009-10.

 

Senator Laments Child Sexual Abuse

ISLAMABAD Feb, 23: Balochistan Senator Surraiya Amiruddin lamented the sexual abuse of children around the country and requested her colleagues to adopt these children. “Innocent children are being sexually abused by truck drivers and other people with low income,” she informed the House. She said it is a very sensitive issue and the government needs to take steps to take care of these children such as their rehabilitation in SOS villages

 

Anti-Measles Drive Kicks Off in Karachi

KARACHI, Feb 21: The Sindh health department is launching a supplementary immunisation campaign against measles in children in the city on Monday.
During the special anti-measles activities that will continue till March 5, about 5.16 million children, aged between nine months and 13 years, living in 178 union councils of the city will be vaccinated.

A source said that about 40 per cent of blood samples of children sent to the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, had been tested positive for measles in 2009. Of the 250 confirmed measles cases, 217 (86 per cent) pertained to Karachi, the source said.

 

Justice Demanded for Gang-Rape Victim of Nagarparkar

KARACHI, Feb 21: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed its deep concern over the gang-rape of a young Kohli girl. According to the HRCP, a 17-year-old girl of village Mokryo, was allegedly kidnapped on January 24 and gang-raped by an influential person and his accomplices. Next day the victim was thrown in front of her house. The father of the victim approached the Nangarparkar police station to lodge a case against alleged rapists but the police refused to register the FIR.

 

Minor Boy Becomes Victim of Acid Attack

SUKKUR, Feb 19: A minor boy suffered severe burn injuries when a masked man threw acid on him in Jacobabad. The incident took place when eight-year-old Tanveer Abro was returning to his house from a workshop where he worked.

Tanveer was taken to civil hospital in Jacobabad where doctors said he had received 40 to 50 percent burns and was in critical condition. He was referred to Hyderabad because only hospitals Karachi and Hyderabad have facilities to treat burns injuries.
He said on Friday evening that he was waiting at the Civil Lines Police Station for registration of the FIR.

 

Children of Detained Policemen Seek Mercy

QUETTA, Feb 19: Children of the police personnel who were arrested or suspended after violent protests on January 25 have appealed to Balochistan chief minister to pardon their fathers who were suspended or arrested. The children after marching through various parts of the city on Friday assembled in front of the press club.

The children said their fathers had no political motives and their protest was only aimed at drawing the government’s attention towards their plight.
Hundreds of policemen had taken part in a rally at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat to press the provincial government to raise their salary.

SPARC Views N News
 
Bonded Labourers Win Freedom with SPARC’s Help
 
Training Report on Child Rights & Child Protection Issues
 
Child Rights National Conference and Reel View Festival
The Role of Media in Promoting Child Rights
 
Press Release
 
 

SPARC ---REEL VIEW FESTIVAL
NOVEMBER 24-25, 2009

 
Child Rights Committees Constitution
 
Child Rights Committees Constitution (urdu)
 
The State of Bonded Labor Launched
 
Table- 1 Juvenile Population in Pakistan Prisons from 2002 to 2009
Month (Dec) Under-trial Convicted Total
2002 4513 936 4979
2003 3049 537 3060
2004 2689 439 2539
2005 2682 363 2368
2006 2677 231 2266
2007 2316 205 2018
2008 2043 153 1788
2009 1500 132 1347
Source: Population Statements from IG Prisons Pakistan  

 

 
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Child Labor
   
 

Despite innumerable promises by the policy and law-makers, there is still no law regulating this sector. SPARC calls for the inclusion of child domestic labor in Pakistan’s National List of Worst Forms of Child Labor and its notification as a banned sector for children’s employment. SPARC has also called for a total ban on government officials engaging children as domestic labor, as exists in India.

The exact number of children exploited in domestic labor is not known as they work behind closed doors and it is difficult to collect data to identify the numbers of children involved in this form of labor. However, out of 250 million working children worldwide, more girl children are engaged in domestic service than in any other category of work. According to one estimate, there are five million child domestic workers in South Asia.

Millions of children are already employed in this hidden sector in Pakistan and there is an alarmingly large population of out-of-school children, particularly in rural areas, who are vulnerable to becoming child domestic workers. Parents in rural areas or slums often hold the misguided belief that their child will lead a much better life working in some one else’s home than they can offer in their own home. Many children are employed through informal “arrangements” between parents and employer; some are abandoned or orphaned children, and many are very young children, some below 10 years old.

Unfortunately, there is a growing demand for child domestic workers, who are preferred over adult workers because it is considered that they are more obedient, argue less and work endlessly for little or sometimes no wages.

World Day Against Child Labor in 2004 was declared by the ILO as the Domestic Child Labor Day

Child labor is sometimes linked with stories of bonded or forced labor. In extreme cases, children have been found imprisoned in illegal work camps or chained to the ground at their workplace. Press attention has focused on child labor in brick kilns and carpet-weaving workshops, as well as more sensational stories about forced prostitution and illegal export of boys to the Gulf as camel jockeys.

Causes of Child Labor

Poor access to and quality of education Pakistan’s weak primary education system contributes to the child labor problem. Though primary education was made compulsory by law in Punjab, NWFP, Sindh and Islamabad Capital Territory, there is no enforcement, and in any case not enough facilities to accommodate all the children.

In rural areas schools are usually inadequate or inaccessible. Many families cannot afford the books and supplies required to keep their children in school, and families often prefer the present value of the income a child earns by working as opposed to the future value of education. The primary school gross enrollment rate is 72%, and 28% of children admitted to grade 1 drop out before completing class 6, according to government figures, though observers believe the dropout rate is much higher.

Social Acceptance

The social acceptance of child labor continues to be a barrier to its elimination. Parents who farm or run businesses expect their children to work with them. Families who are bonded to their employers by debt rely on their children’s labor to help with repayment. On-the-job training is widely seen as better preparation for the future than schooling; Pakistan’s continued high unemployment rate even among the educated contributes to this attitude.

Business profit and competitiveness

Business profit and competitiveness perpetuate child labor. Employers argue that children are cheaper to employ and easier to control and in some cases can be as productive as adults. In the carpet-weaving industry, which employs 1.2 million children, according to one study, employers prefer child workers, claiming that the children’s small fingers make them more skilled than adults. One study concluded that over 80% of carpet workers in the Punjab were children below the age of 15.

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