Child protection revisited

Juvenile protection comes up every now and then, making it seem like we just cannot get it right when it comes to state protection for this vulnerable and unfortunate segment of our population. Conversely, it might be that our legislators are beginning to pay more attention to minors in an effort to amend and improve laws. Child labourers in Islamabad will receive greater protection under the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Protection Bill 2017. The bill seems more comprehensive than the previous ones, with provisions for juvenile education and training, rather than mere juvenile detention. The focus is primarily on the protection of children in labour, orphans, and child beggars, but seeks to establish a system of protection for all children, which receives our approbation.

Child labourers are found in the millions and working in various industries, including domestic help and manufacturing. One might add that child begging is perhaps also an industry, considering its prevalence but of course, all results lead to one cause: poverty. It would be euphoric to expect every child instead to attend school until adulthood because our systems and circumstances, with attention seldom paid to the education sector budget, do not allow for that. Hence, this bill is a decent starting point, albeit restricted to Islamabad, for providing necessary and comprehensive protection to pull children out of labour and ensure their rights to freedom and an appropriate childhood. The bill recognises a child’s emotional needs and even outlines a specific caregiver clause for girls to keep them under female care.

In the discourse on child protection, the struggles and sagas of the likes of Iqbal Masih cannot go unmentioned. The glaring long-term solutions are visibly to alleviate poverty and enforce — or rather provide — basic education for all children. However, with successive governments hell-bent on only improving the economy, even if that just means taking out excessive loans, the long-term solutions are mere pipe dreams.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2017.

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