Almost every project with foreign aid has failed in the past
KARACHI: The first step in creating a child protection system ought to begin by knowing the facts and data. Our existing information on child abuse is the result of either voluntary or efforts funded by NGOs or international bodies. The State of Pakistan itself is easily the least informed party. Why is it that our own state does not collect data on its own regarding its most precious and vulnerable population? The last time a child labour survey was conducted in 1996. The next was initiated (on paper at least) in March 2019. As almost every project with foreign aid has failed in the past, the fate of this Unicef-sponsored survey could be no different, and it would not yield any substantial result.
It is important for the state to shed all pillars of international piety and become self-reliant by setting up its own national database for the children of Pakistan. Complete details of every child - from birth to at least 18 years of age - must be known to the state, which should include, as a minimum, data relating to birth record, family, address, Child Registration Certificate Number, immunisation record, and the education record. This data must be updated annually. Computerising and maintaining data of our children is the only way to ensure they are protected by the state. It will also help with regard to the numerous street children – as only then will the state be able to rehabilitate them, either by reuniting them with their families, or by sheltering them in government-run shelters. This will also allow a foster-care system to develop, as the state can keep a check on the whereabouts and conditions of orphans and abandoned children who have been taken in by members of society. As difficult as this task sounds, it is not impossible. After all, if Turkey can collect complete data of all of its stray dogs, why can our state not do the same for its children?
Naeem Sadiq
Published in The Express Tribune, May 26th, 2019.
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