Daily Times

It is one of the greatest tests of any nation when children are in a state of profound jeopardy. All unjust, cruel and ignorant societies in the past inflicted some serious suffering on children. Whether it was ancient Makkah when daughters were buried alive. Female infanticide was high in prehistoric Makkah as in Constantinople, Athens, and Rome-a practice the Holy Quran addressed directly and condemned continually as pointed out by Lesley Hazleton in her book The First Muslim: The Story of Muhammad (P.BU.H). Or whether it was the Pharaoh in Egypt who ordered execution of all male children to the Children of Israel. Hence we know from history that a tormented state of children is a wake-up call for a society before it falls completely and utterly into deep darkness of inhumanity, barbarousness, tyranny and immorality.

The state of children in Pakistan has been worrisome at so many levels. It’s high time we start realizing the gravity and reality of the situation as the risks are stacking up. Children in Pakistan have been afflicted by abuse, violence, malnutrition, pandemics and not to mention the less tangible emotional and intellectual perpetration. It has become imperative that we guard our future generations against all horrific experiences. We must guide them to righteousness and extend them the support and protection they need to fully realize their gifts and abilities.

We see so many cases of child abuse emanating every now then and many that may not have unraveled by the news eye but still haunt us in our vicinities. Recently, a case of sodomy emerged from a mosque in Rawalpindi involving a cleric who was arrested by the police on charges of abusing a 12-year-old boy. We have already uncovered a network of child abusers involved in the Kasur tragedy where an organized criminal gang had carried out evil acts with impunity for quite some time and apparently the practice is not completely dismantled even now as two more cases emerged lately. Hence abominable crimes our becoming a lucrative business and we cannot afford to look away.

Additionally, children don’t even feel safe in schools and corporal punishments are taking the form of brutal crimes. In another incident in Lahore, 17-year-old Hunain was brutally beaten to death by his teacher in front of his classmates. We have been hearing of such instances from smaller and less developed towns across the country where teachers have been violent towards children and have seriously injured them and there have been instances where parents had to report to the police. This incident in Lahore should not be taken lightly as Lahore is country’s hub for quality and higher education. It is just not one family and one child but a huge failure of our education system altogether to protect our children from physical torture. Teachers are not brutal torturers. They are meant to be role models, mentors and empathetic guides and not some violent psychopaths who can brutalize students on their behest.

The Punjab chief minister should have personally taken notice of this incident and punished the perpetrators. Also we need to conjure up serious legislation in Punjab Assembly, for combating violence in schools against children. Progress is needed on SDG target 16.2, on ending “abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence and torture of children”, as well as targets 5.2 and 5.3 that proscribe all forms of violence against women and girls. Pakistan is beset by myriad challenges that hamper efforts to make the right to protection a reality for our children.

Evidence shows that psychological aggression, physical punishment or violent behavior as forms of discipline for children are pervasive in Punjab and Sindh, cutting across all socioeconomic cohorts and geographic locations

Evidence (MICS survey 2014, 2018) shows that psychological aggression, physical punishment or violent behavior as forms of discipline for children are pervasive in Punjab and Sindh, cutting across all socioeconomic cohorts and geographic locations. According to MICS 2018 findings, percentage of children age 1-14 years who experienced psychological aggression in Punjab is 73.6 percent, severe physical punishment 45.6 percent, any violent discipline method 80.8 percent (Rural is 82.1 percent and Urban 78.3 percent). It is also worth noting that the use of physical and psychological violence is legally condoned under Section 89200 of Pakistan’s Penal Code for children under the age of 12. Disciplining a child does not entail violence. We need serious legislation that prevents all such mal-practices of punching, kicking, hitting head against the wall or holding from the throat, using wooden objects to hit the children that might cause life threatening injury to the students. Teacher training must entail academic and behavioral qualities to motivate children without use of brutal force.

Disease prevention and proper nutrition is also important for cognitive development. The case of Rabies in Sindh and under nutrition in Tharparkar reveals the perpetually poor state of governance in the province. One in four Pakistanis lives in extreme poverty and, according to the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2018, Pakistan has the highest intensity of child poverty in South Asia, at 53 per cent. Girls and women are particularly at risk; Pakistan ranks 148th out of 149 countries for gender parity on the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2018.

Today’s children are tomorrow’s productive workers and enterprising individuals. With 39%1 of Pakistan’s population under 18 years, the latest data shows Pakistan having 80.4 million children in 2017. This makes it imperative for programmes, interventions and policies to safeguard the rights of the child effectively.

Poor children fare worse across many indicators. Children’s developmental outcomes are deeply interlinked with their socioeconomic background. When some major factors like geographic location, gender and poverty converge, the inter-sectional disadvantage experienced by children is acute. For instance, while a poor rural girl in Pakistan receives, on average, 0.75 years of education throughout her life stacked up against rich urban boys receive 10.76 years i.e. a difference of 93%. Nutrition insecurity is equally widespread, implying that critical vitamins and minerals are missing from diets due to lack of awareness and affordability. Both of these insecurities affect the future of Pakistan’s children, perpetuating inter-generational inequalities of opportunity and attainment. Around 62% of Pakistan’s children are anemic, more than half suffer from Vitamin A deficiency, and 40% are deficient in both zinc and Vitamin D.

According to Unicef 2017, Pakistan’s Net Attendance Ratio (NAR) for primary schools at the national level is very low (59.9% – male 62.9% and female 56.5%) and its primary school completion rate is even lower (52%). The NAR (net attendance ratio) for middle schools and secondary education level is only 37% (male 39.7% and female 34%). Overall, education in Pakistan is witnessing an expansion of fiscal space and a simultaneous shrinkage in student learning in public schools. The vast majority of public school students receive poor-quality education due to various institutional issues, such as the limited number of teachers, ineffective school learning environments, capacity issues and the limited use of data for informed decision-making at the local level.

Hence government at federal, national and local levels must make it a priority to address child protection on various levels through legislation, availability and mobilization of adequate resources and awareness campaigns. Provide teachers and school administrators with the tools and resources necessary to develop safe and effective methods for encouraging positive student behavior. The use of corporal punishment in schools interferes with students’ right to be treated with dignity and, as a result, is interfering with their right to a quality education. By prohibiting the use of corporal punishment and helping provinces and local governments to develop safe and effective behavioral practices, the legislature and government could help to ensure that our nation’s children are able to achieve their full educational potential in a supportive learning environment.

The writer is a freelance writer and an Economic Analyst based in Lahore