Daily Times

The Child Rights Movement (CRM) – Sindh, Society for Protection of Rights of the Child (SPARC) and members of civil society on Thursday organised a rally in Hyderabad to mark the International Day of the Girl Child 2018.

Reportedly, CRM and SPARC representatives marched from the Model School to the Hyderabad press club while street children, mostly girls, held banners and placards inscribed with their demands “We also want to get education” and “Education is our right”.

Meanwhile, children from the Child Rights Club and Street Children Center addressed the rally.

They said that girls’ education was the primary issue in Sindh as there were no schools for them to study, particularly in rural areas.

They claimed that the provincial government of Sindh has failed to provide quality education to girls for the last 10 years.

Besides, they appealed to the government to ensure provision of justice for underage children who have been working under forced labour, and subsequently enrolment of all out-of-school children in schools.

CRM – Sindh coordinator Kashif Bajir, SPARC representative Zahid Detho and Wahid Sangrasi demanded accountability of concerned officers of the education department regarding their role in providing education to girls in the province.

“Currently, there are 6 million out-of-school children in Sindh and 70 percent of them are girls,” they said, adding that quality education was required for girls in rural regions on the priority basis, and establishing vocational schools could help to overcome illiteracy in villages.

Furthermore, they demanded equal rights for girls and boys, and eradication of gender discrimination.

Kashif Bajir told the media that there were no rehabilitation centers, child rights protection units and shelter homes for children in Hyderabad.

Importantly, he has demanded a separate ministry to deal with affairs of children.

Published in Daily Times, September 12^th 2018.