These children are barely six to 10 years of age, walking barefoot in the hottest or coldest of temperatures
ISLAMABAD: I visit a place daily where there is knowledge on one side of the gate and ignorance walking barefoot on the other side. Students like myself attend my university regularly to accomplish our academic goals and aspirations. As I walk towards my car, there are poor children who have no idea where their lives are going, employed as they are by their guardians to beg for alms. These children are barely six to 10 years of age, walking barefoot in the hottest or coldest of temperatures.
The H-9 sector in Islamabad is a hub for universities and academic institutions where my university is situated. It is rather shameful and pitiful that there is no child protection bureau or police to protect these children.
There are many such street children all around the capital. These children need looking after as they deserve a decent quality of life. The state has not been playing its part sensibly when it comes to protecting street children. We need more campaigns, media coverage and lobbying to protect street children from child labour and beggary. They must be put where they belong, on the other side of my university’s gate - the side of knowledge.
Amna Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, June 13th, 2016.
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