Browsing Tag: News

LAHORE: Punjab remained in the unenviable position of being the province with the most child abuse cases from January to June 2017. As many as 1,764 children were sexually abused in Pakistan during the period. This number was compiled as a part of the yearly “cruel number” report by Sahil- an organisation which is working against Child Sexual Abuse in Pakistan.

The organisation has been publishing ‘Cruel Number’ reports for the last 17 years, based on data collected through online monitoring and printed newspapers, direct cases received at Sahil offices for  free legal aid and cases shared by other organisations working on CSA.

The data compiled from January to June 2017 of Cruel Number revealed that 1,067 girls and 697 boys were sexually exploited. However, a decrease of 17% in numbers in incidents was observed when compared to January-June 2016. Moreover, 59 cases of child marriages and 14 cases of vani were reported during that time.

As many as 14 cases of child abuse in madrassas were reported. Similarly, hospitals, hotels, cars, clinics, colleges, factories, jails, police stations, marriage halls and graveyards were reported as places of child abuse occurrences. The province-wise data showed 1,089 cases from Punjab, 490 cases from Sindh, 76 violations from Baluchistan, 42 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, nine from Azad Kashmir and 58 cases were reported in the federal capital.

According to the report, 1,306 incidents were reported to the police, while 23 remained unreported. As many as 47 cases were not registered by the police despite being reported. Furthermore, 388 cases were reported in newspapers with incomplete information.

The report revealed that 58 children were sexually abused in Lahore in the six month period in 2017.

Moreover, the report recommended the government to establish a Child Safety Cell in every district of Punjab. It called out for the need of an effective awareness campaign for the protection of children, introduction of new legislation where necessary and implementation of enforced enactments. According to Anser Sajid Bhatti, who shared the report data with The Express Tribune, “There is a need for comprehensive rehabilitation and support system for the victims of abuse.”

Bhatti said that relevant messages against child abuse protection and prevention should be included in the curriculum. “National Plan of Action against child sexual abuse and exploitation should also be implemented in letter spirit,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2017.

The post Cruel number report: ‘Most child sexual abuse cases from Punjab’ appeared first on The Express Tribune.

Source: Tribune News | Cruel number report: ‘Most child sexual abuse cases from Punjab’

LAHORE: In view of the rising political temperature ahead of 2018 general elections, the Punjab government has fixed an ambitious deadline of December 31 for the completion of Lahore Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project. Contractors and engineers working on the project declared the deadline as impossible in the backdrop of the sluggish performance of the project’s Package-II and a pending court case.

Speaking in the projects weekly progress review meeting on Wednesday, the OLMT Steering Committee Chairman Khawaja Ahmad Hassaan said the first metro train has already arrived in the city and soon it will be running on track to facilitate 250,000 commuters on a daily basis. He announced that three packages of the metro train will be completed by November, while Package-II will be completed by December.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, engineers working on the project termed this timeline unrealistic and impossible to achieve. An engineer highlighted that although an overall 76% civil works of the project have been completed, most of the construction was done on Package-1.

Responding to a question, he said unless the court gave the green signal and maximum resources were used, including machinery and manpower, it will be impossible to complete the construction work at all 11 sites before March or April, 2018. “However, if the government wanted to run the metro train on the completed elevated track along Grand Trunk Road, it may start operations limited to that area.”

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Civil Society Forum (PCSF) in a statement, expressed shock over Shehbaz Sharif’s alleged call to “public violence” in the event that a Supreme Court’s ruling did not sanction the metro train project plan.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2017.

The post Project OLMT to be completed by Dec 31 appeared first on The Express Tribune.

Source: Tribune News | Project OLMT to be completed by Dec 31

LAHORE: On the International Day of the Girl Child, adolescent females continued to face a plethora of problems when it comes to access to education as schools in Punjab were far away from their homes.

The problem is exacerbated by inadequate transport facilities, while economic conditions force families not to send their children, especially girls, to schools.

According to Punjab Gender Parity Report 2017 by the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW), the literacy rate for girls is 55%, lower that the average of the province at 63%. At the same time, it is estimated that 71% of males are literate.

The report found that although the literacy among women had risen from 48% to 55%, the net enrollment rate saw a decrease from 70% to 67% during the corresponding period. It also highlighted that the lowest parity in the number of schools, teachers and enrollment for females was found in districts from the Southern part of the province. The districts found to have the lowest gender parity were Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh and Rajanpur.

Out of school, drop out and survival rates

According to the report, the districts from South Punjab again had the most out-of-school children, especially girls. The report showed that Rajanpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur, Multan and Muzaffargarh had the highest number of out-of-school children. According to the report, Rajanpur had the highest rate with 39% of children out of school and 22% of these were girls.

The dropout and survival rate of girls in formal education also showed similar patterns with districts of South Punjab showing a dismal situation. Rajanpur, Muzaffargarh and Dera Ghazi Khan had the highest dropout rates, with girls dropping out of school at a higher rate.

The Punjab Gender Parity Report 2017 cites low per capita income of families, inadequate facilities in schools and low motivation levels of parents among other factors. Similarly, the survival rate of children, especially girls, showed similar trends in the province.

Non-functional schools

The report said that Punjab had less than 1% of non-functional schools; however 71% of those were for girls. “A number of formal schools established by the government are non-functional due to unavailability of staff, security issues for women teachers and girls, along with lack of transport facilities,” the report stated.

PCSW Chairperson Fauzia Viqar, in a statement, said, “Education is a fundamental right of girls and necessary for their mental growth as well as economic prosperity of the country. Giving girls an opportunity to complete secondary schooling will lead to an end of child marriages and reduce domestic violence.”

PCSW Gender Management Information System (GMIS) Project Manager Mehreen Siddiqi said that to improve girls’ access to education, the commission recommends providing better transportation facilities to girls, building new schools in areas where formal schools for girls don’t exist and provide more conditional cash transfers to encourage increased enrollment and survival.

Ensuring fundamental rights

Child Rights Movement and CAN Pakistan’s Coordinator Rashida Qureshi shared that adolescent girls have the right to a safe, educated, and healthy life, not only during critical formative years, but also as they mature into women. “If effective support is provided to them during adolescent years, girls have the potential to change the world – both as the empowered girls of today and as tomorrow’s workers, mothers, entrepreneurs, mentors, household heads, and political leaders,” she said.

The coordinator issued this statement during a celebration of International Day of the Girl Child under theme Girl’s Progress=Goal’s Progress”.

It was arranged by the Child Rights Movement, Punjab, Search For Justice and Pakistan Girl Guides Association. “An investment in realising the power of adolescent girls upholds their rights today and promises a more equitable and prosperous future, one in which half of humanity is an equal partner in solving the problems of climate change, political conflict, economic growth, disease prevention, and global sustainability,” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2017.

The post International Day of the Girl Child: Obstacles galore continue to affect female education appeared first on The Express Tribune.

Source: Tribune News | International Day of the Girl Child: Obstacles galore continue to affect female education

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that a plan has been devised to transfer 20,000 schools situated in remote and far-flung areas of the province onto solar energy. He expressed these views while chairing a meeting to review progress on Khadim-e-Punjab Ujala Programme. Addressing the meeting, the chief minister said the first phase of this programme would start from southern Punjab and a total of 10,861 schools of the districts would be provided solar energy. “A quality educational atmosphere is the priority of the government and therefore, schools will be provided the facility of solar energy,” Shehbaz said. “Khadim-e-Punjab Ujala Programme will go a long way in providing a conducive atmosphere to students,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2017.

The post Going Solar: 20,000 schools to be solarised: CM appeared first on The Express Tribune.

Source: Tribune News | Going Solar: 20,000 schools to be solarised: CM