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Zehra Kamal Alam // DAWN: May 7, 2025
THE National Commission on the Rights of the Child recently published its first-ever report of data, challenges and recommendations on the State of Children in Pakistan, 2024.
While the state of child rights remains dismal in Pakistan, this government-owned reflective report is a welcome change from the time when similar reports by civil society would not only be rejected, but at times, actively discouraged from being published as that would bring a bad name to the country.
The real challenge going forward would be for the commission to garner enough support and ownership from the government machinery and relevant departments to put the recommendations into practice in a coordinated manner.
As the government addresses the recommendations that have been given in the report, it would be important to shed light on some aspects of violence that are not only stand-alone issues but which also intersect with children’s experiences of other forms of violence and impact health, education and the overall rights of the child.
The first aspect is related to children’s exposure to violence against women at home and its intersectionality with violent disciplining. In a Unicef briefing note of 2024, available data had indicated that one in four children live with a mother or caregiver who is experiencing intimate partner violence. There is a higher likelihood of these children being impacted in the same way as with direct experiences of violence, and of them also being violently disciplined by adults.
These multiple experiences of violence can negatively impact the birthweight of children, under-five mortality and the mental and social development of a child. It may also make children vulnerable to both adult experiences of violence and to perpetrating violence on others.
Violence can negatively impact children in a number of ways.
The second aspect that needs mention and research is related to the bullying and violence perpetrated by children on other children in schools, at home and in play and work settings — both online and offline. In a Unicef study, 60.1 per cent of children from Grade 5 to Grade 7 reported being bullied by their peers or older children.
In my personal experience of working with schools, bullying — both online and offline — is, unfortunately, common and often goes unrecognised and/ or remains unaddressed. It shows its impact on the students’ mental well-being, academic achievement, absenteeism and behaviour towards other children.
Themes of bullying may arise from the discriminatory and reductive views about girls and women, minority, disability and transgender groups. The false notions of machismo among boys, which is internalised through societal messaging, contributes towards the acceptance of bullying as ‘cool’, ‘manly’, and ‘acceptable’ behaviour. Data given in the commission’s child rights report shows that an overwhelming majority of undertrial or convicted children are males, and their crimes range from theft, drug peddling to rape/ sodomy, unnatural offences and murder.
It is indeed the need of the hour for the commission to steer the child rights agenda and collectively work with the women’s rights, health, social protection, education, legal and livelihood departments as well as the private sector to prioritise, commit and allocate the required resources for addressing these interlinked issues.
For example, all the initiatives that are aimed at addressing violence against women must have a component on violence against children and positive parenting and vice versa; nutrition and health-based programmes need to address the impact of direct and indirect experiences of violence; mental health programmes would need to address the nexus of poverty, violence and psychosocial factors that impact well-being; and school-based and correction facilities/ borstal institutes’ violence prevention programmes for children must have an important component on toxic masculinity, bullying and prejudice.
It is important that these initiatives begin much before children reach the stage of adolescence.
Challenging prejudicial and discriminatory attitudes towards gender, class, disability, religious and gender identities; developing tolerance and acceptance for differences; unpacking harmful notions of ‘family honour’, violence being a family matter; and viewing children as personal property already highlighted in the various sections of the child rights report, would need to be a crosscutting, ongoing theme for all levels of preventive, response and rehabilitative work.
The writer is a mental health professional.
zehrakamal77@gmail.com
Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2025
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DAWN EDITORIAL: 07 May 2025
[Especially recommended to the students of Environmental Science]
THE World Bank’s red alert — that global waste may rise by 73pc by 2050 — spells trouble for countries like Pakistan. Low-income countries bear the brunt of the crisis due to limited infrastructure, poor urban planning and weak enforcement. If current trends continue, the global volume of waste will hit 3.88bn tonnes annually. Pakistan, for its part, generates over 3.9m tonnes of plastic every year. And yet, recycling here is virtually non-existent. Unlike in developed nations, where sorting household waste and recycling are routine, most Pakistanis dispose of all waste — organic, recyclable, hazardous — in the same bin, if not chucking it out of moving cars onto the street. This lack of a recycling culture is a major barrier. When it comes to dealing with waste, the responsibility is not the government’s alone. Citizens must also change their ways. Separating waste at source, avoiding single-use plastics, and properly disposing garbage should be social norms. Governance is a work in progress. Despite rules, most cities lack the planning, infrastructure and enforcement to manage waste. Punjab has seen some initiative, with a 42-acre landfill in Lahore now being transformed into a solar park and urban forest. In KP, waste management is often outsourced to private operators with minimal regulatory oversight. Balochistan lags far behind with limited coverage and negligible recycling efforts.
Sindh’s recent move to impose a blanket ban on all types of plastic bags is commendable — if enforced. Its 2019 restrictions were riddled with loopholes and poor implementation. For the new policy to succeed, dedicated waste zones and daily door-to-door trash collection is essential. The ban must be backed by enforcement: fines, seizure of goods, and closure of businesses flouting the law. The federal government must do more than draft policy papers. It must coordinate across provinces to create a national waste strategy with targets for recycling, reduction and enforcement. Funding must be linked to compliance, not mere intent. The WB report highlights the steep cost of inaction: clogged drains, urban flooding, disease and soaring methane emissions. For Pakistan, already among the most climate-vulnerable countries, unmanaged waste is not just an eyesore, it is also a threat multiplier. It is time to clean up our act. Everyone has a role to play, and every bag, bottle and banana peel counts.
Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2025
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DAWN EDITORIAL: 07 May 2025
ISRAEL’S rogue behaviour — attacking the Arab population in the occupied Palestinian territories as well as its neighbours and other states — presents a major challenge to global peace. Unless the Zionist state is confronted by the international community, its destabilising activities will further push the Middle East into a cycle of bloodshed. On Monday, the Israeli cabinet decided to ‘conquer’ Gaza and push its beleaguered people to the south “for their protection”. Tel Aviv has now clearly stated what many had already known: that it seeks to reoccupy Gaza and exterminate or ethnically cleanse its Palestinian residents. Elsewhere, Tel Aviv has attacked Lebanon, Yemen and Syria. On Monday and Tuesday, Israeli warplanes bombed Yemen in apparent retaliation for the Houthi attack on Tel Aviv airport a day before. The pro-Iran Houthis say they are targeting Israel in solidarity with Palestine, and that they will cease operations against the Zionist state if the bloodbath in Gaza stops. The fresh aggression against Yemen comes in the wake of several deadly American strikes targeting the impoverished Arab state. In Syria, Israel claims to be intervening to ‘protect’ that country’s Druze community after recent sectarian clashes claimed around 100 lives. While sectarian violence in Syria is indeed a matter of concern, Israel has no right to interfere; apart from violating Syria’s sovereignty, nobody should be fooled by Israel’s crocodile tears for Syria’s Druze population.
Nearly all the Middle East’s interconnected crises have one common denominator: Israel. Apart from the aforementioned activities, the Iranian foreign minister has said Tel Aviv is trying to drag the US into a Middle East “disaster”. While America can hardly be counted on to rein in Israel, other major world powers — and the larger global community — should take punitive measures against Tel Aviv until it stops its bloodthirsty forays. Appeasing Israel and ignoring its deadly rampages may well set the stage for a regional conflagration of immense proportions.
Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2025
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AFP via DAWN: 07 May 2025
Bangladesh’s ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia, chair of the powerful Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), returned home to cheering crowds on Tuesday after months abroad for medical treatment.
Zia, 79, led the South Asian nation twice but was jailed for corruption in 2018 during the tenure of Sheikh Hasina, her successor and lifelong rival who barred her from travelling abroad for medical care.
The 79-year-old was released from house arrest after a student-led mass uprising ousted Hasina in August 2024.
She flew to Britain in January and returned on Tuesday, BNP spokesperson Shairul Kabir said.
Thousands of party activists welcomed her, gathering on either side of the road leading to the airport, carrying photographs of Zia and waving party flags and placards with welcome messages.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, 84, who has led an interim government since Hasina fled into exile as crowds stormed her palace, has said elections will be held as early as December, and by June 2026 at the latest.
“This is a significant day for the country and the people of Bangladesh,” Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the BNP’s secretary general, told reporters.
“The celebration we are witnessing is not only an outpouring of emotion but also a demonstration of our strength.”
Zia’s rival Hasina remains in self-imposed exile in India and has defied an arrest warrant from Dhaka over charges of crimes against humanity.
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