Call for efforts to protect street children

Karachi
A consultative dialogue meeting with street children was held by the Foundation for Research and Human Development (FRHD) at Beach Park, Clifton as part of events lined up for the ‘Global Action Week: Education for All’.
A group of 25 street children, representatives of civil society, school children and teachers participated in the event. The aim of the meeting was to urge the state to take serious measures for provision of shelter, health services and education, in accordance with existing domestic laws.
Literacy remains a scarce attribute among children working and living on the streets and the children cited poverty, corporal punishment and being forced into begging were some of the major reasons they drop out of school.
A sizeable proportion of the street children cited their family’s economic status as the reason they had to abandon school, while others agreed that incidences of corporal punishment and violent behavior of peers also contributed to their decision.
Regarding enrolment, the children said that neither did they feel particularly inclined to take up school nor would their families let them, as they largely believed that earning on the streets trumped education for a child.
Nazra Jahan , FRHD’s executive director, shed light on the countrywide situation of street children. “Around 1.5 million children are living on the streets of Pakistan’s major cities. Poverty, unemployment and other economic issues, as well as natural disasters, are all major contributors to their increasing numbers,” she said.
“A study revealed that 56.5 percent of the children interviewed in Multan, 82.2 percent in Karachi, 80.5 percent in Hyderabad and 83.3 percent in Sukkur were forced out onto the streets after the 2010 and 2011 floods. According to an international body, 72 percent of working children do not have contact with their families, while 10 percent have no knowledge of their families.”
Jahan lamented the fact that though laws pertaining to the matter do exist – the Sindh Children Act 1955, Sindh Child Protection Authority Act 2011, Sindh Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2013 – their just implementation remains a far-off prospect.
She said these laws outline the state’s responsibility to provide custody and protection to children, as well as defining repercussions for parents and guardians who willfully neglect or abuse children.
“Instead of focusing on introducing legislations, the state should take measures to implement the existing laws for protecting children and their rights.”
Program officer Shafiq Kandro said street children in Pakistan were forced to take up jobs at a very young age, some being no older than four years, and remain engaged in menial jobs that do not require any academic or vocational training.
“These jobs offer no opportunities for improved lifestyles in the future. Many survive by prostituting themselves, stealing or smuggling and are vulnerable to a number of diseases including STDs and health ailments that are a direct result of their occupations and unsanitary conditions of workplaces,” he said.