MINISTRY of Human Rights headed by Shireen Mazari has
really shown accelerated efforts towards promoting and protecting the rights of children, which in fact is the right way to go to exploit their true talent and potential.
The Ministry has now constituted a working group comprising relevant federal and provincial government representatives, civil society organizations and human rights to address the issues related to child abuse and health malnutrition which certainly has emerged as the major issues faced by our young souls. Our country has one of the highest prevalence of child malnutrition as compared to other development countries. According to the National Nutrition Survey, 33%of our children are underweight, nearly 44% stunted, 50% were anaemic, and 33% were anaemic (iron deficiency). As regards child abuse, it is gradually transforming from a taboo to a matter of discussion especially after the Zainab Ansari case that created uproar across the country. However, there is no let up in such despicable and horrific cases. According to a recent report by Sahil – the child protection advocacy group – there were 2,846 cases reported of child sexual abuse from across the country last year. This means that approximately eight children were subjected to abuse each day of 2019, with more than half being girls. Nevertheless, the report has been made mainly from the electronic and print media sources, therefore, only showing the small part of the bigger picture. In this backdrop, the constitution of the working group comprising all the stakeholders is a welcome step that will provide a platform to them to work collectively for the protection of the children. As Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Bill has recently been signed into law by the President, the working group must monitor the implementation of this law so that the perpetrators of child abuse could be brought to justice at the earliest. The working group should also prepare special awareness campaigns at the grassroots level educating the people how best they can protect their kids from any abuse as well as the benefits of a balanced and nutritious diet for the health of the children.
