Children's future in Pak's Sindh not bright, worst forms of child abuse, bonded labour prevalent: Activist

Marking Universal Children's Day on Saturday, child rights activists in Pakistan said that the future of children in Sindh is not bright as the worst forms of abuse and bonded labour are prevalent in the area.

Marking Universal Children's Day on Saturday, child rights activists in Pakistan said that the future of children in Sindh is not bright as the worst forms of abuse and bonded labour are prevalent in the area. Hari Welfare Association (HWA) President, Akram Ali Khaskheli said, "Children's future in Sindh is not bright; worst forms of child and bonded labour are prevalent in this district but no steps have been taken in this regard," reported Dawn.

Khaskheli noted that the Sindh Child Protection Authority, Sindh Human Rights Commission and Sindh Commission on Status of Women had been in place for a decade while there had already been the National Commission on Rights of Child (NCRC) at the national level but these institutions could not mitigate sufferings of children. Khaskheli said these organisations would only pay lip service as they did not push governments to put in place proper systems and mechanisms at the district level to protect children from slavery in agriculture and other sectors and kilns as well as in bangle, garment and other industries, reported Dawn.

The seminar organised by the HWA and district social welfare department in Shadeed Benazirabad discussed this year's theme 'A better future for every child' and urged the Sindh government to utilise funds for the protection of children's future and ensure their rights to life, survival, health and education. A Child Club activist, Sabreen, quoted an NGO reporting that 861 cases of child abuses were recorded in Sindh in 2019. They included 155 cases of abduction, 231 cases of missing children and 85 cases of child marriages. In the same year, out of a total of 104 underage marriage cases in the country, 82 per cent were reported in Sindh, the Dawn report said.

These cases showed that protection of children was not ensured by the authorities concerned, she said and added that the same number (861) of children were abused in the province in 2020. They included 390 cases of sexual abuse, 190 of abduction, 231 cases of missing children and 81 cases of underage marriages, she said.

Her club colleague, Rabea, cited the Pakistan Education Statistics report stating that 6.4 million children, including 3.3 million girls, remained out of school. They were deprived of their fundamental right to education. She said these children were unable to attend school because of poverty, unavailability of a school nearby, lack of government's interest to invest in education, lack of awareness and a high rate of corporal punishment, reported Dawn.

Other speakers called for the allocation of more funds to build schools, appoint women teachers and initiate strict monitoring. They said children's and women's immunization scales should be extended to rural areas and special services should also be started to take care of malnourished children, reported Dawn. (ANI)

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