For the children: ‘Legislation exists, it just isn’t enforced’
NGOs gather under banner of Child Protection Bureau to discuss problem areas on International Day for Children.
MULTAN:
Several NGOs collaborated with the Multan Child Protection Bureau (CPB) to arrange seminars and other functions in connection with the International Day for Children on Friday.
According to CPB officer Mohammad Ikram Sheikh, the bureau had contacted dozens of NGOs working on children’s issues beforehand to help arrange the event. “We wanted to get a clearer picture of the different issues people were working on here and we found panelists from NGOs working against child labour, on child health, against child marriages and on several other issues,” he said.
Unicef local representative Mir Akmal Rashid said that his organisation had been working extensively with issues pertaining to child labour in the area. “We have teams that strictly monitor any child labour violations and report them to the police and the CPB. Still, such incidents continue to occur everyday and we have a long way to go before we can rid our society of this evil,” he said.
Shazia Virk said that she worked with a group of housewives to ensure that all the children in their local village went to school. “We visit the local slums every week and try and convince parents to send their girls to school. They tell us they cannot afford it but now schooling is free,” she told reporters. “Still, there are many village folk who resist educating girls and we are trying to discover how we can tackle this mindset,” she added.
CPB in-charge Sami Malik said that it essential that the Punjab government begin to introduce legislation that made education compulsory. “With public schools offering free education it is time that the Punjab government enforce legislation that makes not sending one’s kids to school illegal,” he said, adding “such measures will go a long way to wiping out child labour and child marriage violations as well. It will allow children to fall under state protection and it will give us the chance to take speedy action.” Malik said that it was about time the government thought seriously about the future of the country by investing in the future of its children.
“We need to ensure that our children have a future and the only way to do this is by providing quality education at the local level. There are still thousands who don’t send their kids to school and they need to know this is illegal,” said CPB chairman Shaur Shahid Mehmood. “The problem isn’t legislation because that exists. The problem is enforcement. There are laws against child labour and yet people from elite households have small children taking care of their children. This is a punishable offence but few people know that or care,” he said.
NGO worker Maroofa Shirazuddin said that at present child marriages were the most common human rights violation in Punjab. “The reason for this is that the legislation against it is pre-partition. We need new measures to prevent this heinous crime,” she said.
Mehmood said that over 10 million children face severe food shortage in Pakistan and over 3 million children were working as domestic servants in houses. “The CPB is working to take children off the streets and to eliminate beggary but it is a slow process. When it comes to child labour we can target factories and other such places but we cannot go to peoples’ houses and take children to rehabilitate them,” he added.
Malik said that it was essential to raise awareness about the existing legislation on child rights in Pakistan. “We need to identify where the legislation needs changing and where we need to introduce legislation for children’s rights,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 19th, 2011.
Several NGOs collaborated with the Multan Child Protection Bureau (CPB) to arrange seminars and other functions in connection with the International Day for Children on Friday.
According to CPB officer Mohammad Ikram Sheikh, the bureau had contacted dozens of NGOs working on children’s issues beforehand to help arrange the event. “We wanted to get a clearer picture of the different issues people were working on here and we found panelists from NGOs working against child labour, on child health, against child marriages and on several other issues,” he said.
Unicef local representative Mir Akmal Rashid said that his organisation had been working extensively with issues pertaining to child labour in the area. “We have teams that strictly monitor any child labour violations and report them to the police and the CPB. Still, such incidents continue to occur everyday and we have a long way to go before we can rid our society of this evil,” he said.
Shazia Virk said that she worked with a group of housewives to ensure that all the children in their local village went to school. “We visit the local slums every week and try and convince parents to send their girls to school. They tell us they cannot afford it but now schooling is free,” she told reporters. “Still, there are many village folk who resist educating girls and we are trying to discover how we can tackle this mindset,” she added.
CPB in-charge Sami Malik said that it essential that the Punjab government begin to introduce legislation that made education compulsory. “With public schools offering free education it is time that the Punjab government enforce legislation that makes not sending one’s kids to school illegal,” he said, adding “such measures will go a long way to wiping out child labour and child marriage violations as well. It will allow children to fall under state protection and it will give us the chance to take speedy action.” Malik said that it was about time the government thought seriously about the future of the country by investing in the future of its children.
“We need to ensure that our children have a future and the only way to do this is by providing quality education at the local level. There are still thousands who don’t send their kids to school and they need to know this is illegal,” said CPB chairman Shaur Shahid Mehmood. “The problem isn’t legislation because that exists. The problem is enforcement. There are laws against child labour and yet people from elite households have small children taking care of their children. This is a punishable offence but few people know that or care,” he said.
NGO worker Maroofa Shirazuddin said that at present child marriages were the most common human rights violation in Punjab. “The reason for this is that the legislation against it is pre-partition. We need new measures to prevent this heinous crime,” she said.
Mehmood said that over 10 million children face severe food shortage in Pakistan and over 3 million children were working as domestic servants in houses. “The CPB is working to take children off the streets and to eliminate beggary but it is a slow process. When it comes to child labour we can target factories and other such places but we cannot go to peoples’ houses and take children to rehabilitate them,” he added.
Malik said that it was essential to raise awareness about the existing legislation on child rights in Pakistan. “We need to identify where the legislation needs changing and where we need to introduce legislation for children’s rights,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 19th, 2011.