Birth registration is the process by which the birth of a child is officially recorded and documented by the state. This registration is the first step towards establishing both the existence and identity of the child. Granting and recognising this legal status not only gives the child an identity, it also gives him/her the status of a legal entity, instrumental in allowing the child access to a wide range of rights and freedoms that are guaranteed by the state. An unregistered child will not have legal status in the eyes of the state and, for all practical purposes, will be considered invisible and unprotected. For this reason, unregistered children are vulnerable to being exploited, trafficked or married young. Birth registration is therefore the first fundamental right of the child that paves the way for all other rights.
Pakistan ranks amongst the countries that have the lowest levels of birth registration. According to UNICEF’s 2011 State of the World’s Children report, only 27 percent of total births in Pakistan between 2000 and 2009 were registered. According to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, girls, children belonging to a religious or minority group, refugee children and children living in rural areas are more frequently denied the right of registration than others in Pakistan. This is despite the fact that international treaties such as the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that Pakistan is signatory to ask for a child’s registration at birth. Reasons for non-registration are often interconnected and range from economic concerns to differing understandings of the implications of birth registration. Some cultural contexts attach little importance to a girl’s registration. Parents are often not registered themselves, which hinders their child’s registration and keeps the non-registration cycle alive.
Although birth registration is a fundamental right according to Article 24 ICCPR and Article 7 CRC, it is rather seen as a mere administrative function by Pakistani officials. This perception leads to little proactivity by officials and there is a lack of resources for law enforcement. Even free-of-charge registration often comes with indirect costs, e.g. where parents have to travel to get to the relevant registration offices. While away, parents are deprived of their source of daily income and financial incentives are often demanded by officials for registration.
The duplicated process in practice is another major hindrance to birth registration. After a child has been registered with the Union Council the data still has to be entered in the national database in order to obtain a child registration certificate (more commonly known as the ‘B’ Form) at the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) offices, for a fee of Rs 50. This means that parents must first go to the Union Council and afterwards are required to carry out further formalities at the NADRA offices on a district level. For many parents, especially in rural areas, NADRA offices are even harder to reach. Therefore parents might be discouraged by even higher travel costs.
Late registration leads to a more complicated process, involving a notarised affidavit and the presentation of the child to the district health officer. Further steps include the involvement of the executive district officer, tehsildar (revenue officer), NAAIB tehsildar (deputy revenue officer), gardawar and patwari (village accountant), and the same in reverse.
No population census has been conducted since 1998. A potentially upcoming census or other needs for data collection are made difficult by the non-registration of girls. Non-registration has severe consequences throughout a girl’s life as it hinders her access to government run schools, medical facilities, vaccination and, upon majority, voter registration lists. They are exposed to the risk of early age marriage in the absence of substantial proof of their age. A family’s poverty is likely to contribute to this risk. Without official proof of the girl’s age it might be easier to marry her off at an age where she would otherwise be prevented from doing so by law. Nikah khwans (marriage registrars) only rely on the parent’s statement as proof of the girl’s age.
Due to continuous advocacy efforts by civil society organisations such as Shirkat Gah, over the years, birth registration fees at the Union Council level have been waived in Punjab through the Punjab Women Empowerment Initiative of 2014. Nevertheless, it must be ensured that officials in the entire province are aware of this waiver. It is recommended that in all provinces, registration should be compulsory, follow the same procedures and be free of charge. Late registration should be handled flexibly to encourage parents to register older children. Stricter fines and punishment for non-registration should be put in place.
The government needs to ensure that existing registration rates are established and hurdles in registration, especially in rural areas, are assessed. Officials should be trained to perceive birth registration as a fundamental right as opposed to a mere administrative task. A consortium of Union Council members and school representatives should ensure that children present their birth registration certificate for school enrolment and that those already enrolled are issued certificates accordingly. Paid female and male mobilisers, acting as a bridge between the Union Council and parents, should inform parents about registration and undertake the registration process on their behalf.
There should be an online link between the Union Council and NADRA on the district level, automatically entering Union Council data into the NADRA database to make the process more accessible. Parents will only have to go to the Union Council making it cheaper and less time consuming. Longer shifts and more staff could facilitate registration for more people. Working in a double shift system would better suit the needs of those parents only available after official working hours. Mobile vans and teams should be prepared to facilitate registration in the villages.
The writer is a women rights activist and a campaigner against child marriage