Daily Times

The Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) has been endeavouring for the rights of children in Pakistan for many years. SPARC’s annual publication, The State of Pakistan’s Children (SOPC), being published for the last 15 years, is just one part of their work. This publication not only serves as a baseline for researchers who are working on child rights, but also informs all the stakeholders, including the government, public and nongovernmental organisations about the state of children in Pakistan. This publication also aims at providing vital information to legislators and policy makers, so that policies in favour of children can be enacted, and Pakistan can comply with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

SOPC focuses on the state of health, education, child labour and rights of children in Pakistan. The SOPC 2010 report, apart from providing information on the above-described topics, has also included a chapter on child suicide. This chapter not only adds to the alarming facts about the state of children in Pakistan, but also describes the injustices and cruelty extended to children not only by society but also by their very own families.

Suicide is considered a taboo in our society. Not only does the predominant religion, Islam, forbid suicide, but the law also equates attempted suicide and suicide with murder. Suicide rates in society as a whole are increasing because of the increasing poverty rate, social injustices, frail law and order situation and slow dispensation of justice. However, the fact is that the suicide rate in children is also increasing and, apart from the factors described above, some additional factors/reasons are also compelling children to resort to suicide.

In the SOPC 2010 report, the chapter ‘Child suicide: a grim fact of today’s life’ focuses on the growing trend of suicide among children in Pakistan. According to the figures provided in this publication, 187 children committed suicide and 80 attempted suicide in 2010. It was further revealed that this figure is tentative because, in 61.2 percent of the cases, the age of people committing this act was not established. So, it can be ascertained that the total number of child suicides is much higher. One of the leading reasons why suicide cases are not reported properly is due to the fact that society considers suicide a crime. Additionally, the behaviour of the police and the fear of imprisonment in a case of attempted suicide lead to the lack of proper reporting. Only those cases get registered that are reported by government hospitals and other related institutions. Most attempted suicide cases are taken to private hospitals, so that they do not get reported to the police. All the cases of deliberate self-harm or attempted suicide are under-reported because of the punitive aftermath attached to them.

The chapter on child suicide further reveals that there was only a slight increase in the number of suicide cases from 2009, which were 185 as compared to the 187 cases reported in 2010. However, there was a sharp increase in the cases of attempted suicide, which increased from 42 in 2009 to 80 in 2010. The chapter further informs the reader about the means used by children to commit suicide and, among them, use of poisonous materials was most common, followed by firearms and hanging. According to the data provided in the chapter, out of 267 cases of suicide and attempted suicide among children in 2010, 132 used poisonous materials, 46 used firearms and 45 resorted to hanging. Apart from the means used for suicide, the chapter also provides figures related to the reasons that compel children to commit such acts and, among them, parental scolding/punishment was the leading reason, followed by domestic disputes and worries. Additionally, the chapter also includes alarming facts related to the use of children as suicide bombers. According to the data provided in the chapter, in 2010, a total of 62 suicide bombings was reported, out of which four were carried out by child suicide bombers. In 2009, 47 suicide bombings were reported out of which four were carried out by child suicide bombers.

Overall, this publication is a useful source of information related to the status of children in Pakistan. However, there are a few improvements that can still be made to bring this publication at par with others. First of all, the figures provided in the ‘Child suicide: a grim fact of today’s life’ chapter have not been arranged properly and according to an ascending or descending frequency. Secondly, the photos given in the book have not been credited to the original source, which is not desirable. There is also a strong need to conduct primary research, instead of relying on secondary data provided by other resources and institutions. This is important and has also been mentioned in the publication that cases related to suicide in children, particularly girls and women, are always under-reported. According to the data provided in the child suicide chapter, 2,566 cases of suicide were reported in 2009, out of which the total reported cases of suicide or attempted suicide in children were 227 or 8.846 percent of the total. However, 1,521 or 59.3 percent of the cases were under-reported. So, if all these cases get reported, then the incidence of child suicide can rise further.

Floods, the war on terror and poverty have left a large number of children at the mercy of other people. In the absence of state-owned facilities for children, there is a looming danger that these children might lose hope and resort to extreme measures. So, it is the collective responsibility of every one of us to support and provide means for the welfare of these children, so that they can have a better future.

The writer is an Islamabad-based development consultant. She can be
reached at coordinator@individualland.com