Children constitute 50% of Pakistan’s population but remain the most neglected segment of our society. They cannot vote and the political parties thus do not promise to do much for them in their manifestoes and do even far less when in power. It is thus not surprising that the manifestoes of the parties for the coming general elections say very little about Child Rights.
Out of the three major political parties, Pakistan’s People Party (PPP) has taken a lead in becoming the first political party to unveil its manifesto. The manifesto mentions makes promises in relation education, health, water and sanitation, differently-abled children, food and nutrition and sports. A separate section is devoted to Child’s Rights which is missing in other parties’ manifestos. The party has vowed to enact laws on issues concerning child protection and welfare, internal trafficking, prohibition of child labor, child marriages and acid and burn crimes. It also makes a commitment to ensure implementation of the current laws on Child Rights.
PPP promises to increase the education budget to 5% of GDP by 2025. A shift from rote learning to teaching styles promoting creativity among children is proposed. Stress is laid on girls’ education, eliminating geographical inequalities, curriculum reforms and comprehensive teacher training programs. Under the purview of health reforms, PPP commits to reduce the maternal and infant mortality rates and pledges to achieve 100 % coverage for routine immunization for children under the age of 2 years. It says that it will give attention for the enactment of legislation and formulation of policies to provide water and sanitation facilities; and for the implementation the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which will cover differently-abled children. Creation of sports fund and state of the art stadiums and sports facilities are also given due importance.
Pakistan Tehrike Insaaf (PTI) commits to increase the education budget allocation to 4% of GDP. It promises to increase the number of schools at secondary level for girls by upgrading schools every year in high-enrolment areas and launching nation-wide radio, television and online self-learning programs for secondary students. Furthermore; a Teach for Pakistan program will be launched to attract high quality teachers towards public sector educational institutes. Party will make special arrangements for providing sport activities to children in schools and establishment of separate sports complex.
It says that it will provide facilities to differently-abled children and offer devices and technologies such as hearing aids and wheel chair to those who need them. It will also conduct provincial and national Special Olympics and sporting events and arrange for sports federations to sponsor international participation of below and above 18 special athletes.
Apprehensive about the fact that Pakistan stands at second worst in terms of World Economic Forum’s Gender Parity report, the party aims to increase the access of girls to education and reduce their subjection to patriarchy-induced violence. In order to facilitate the victims of gender- based crimes, the number of female police officers will be increased. Moreover, establishment of special gender-based violence courts for the additional protection of female victims is on the agenda list of the party.
In the health sector, the party commits to launch large scale national level Maternal Health Program with an understanding that healthy mothers give birth to healthy children. Special attention will be given to reduce the maternal and child mortality rates which at present stand at one of the worst in the region. Up scaling of Sehat Insaf Card program and expansion of primary and secondary health care are set as important targets. For this purpose, the number of 24/7 operating Basic Health Units and Rural Health Centers equipped with basic package of services, staff and ambulance service will be increased to ensure each village has access to a facility within 10 km radius. In Pakistan, as a result of diarrhea caused by microbial contaminants in the water supply, nearly 39,000 children under the age of 5 die every year. Cognizant of the country’s abysmally low performance in this sector, PTI vows to improve the water and sanitation system.
Pakistan Muslim League led by the Sharifs vows to achieve universal primary enrollment by 2023. It also promises to allocate at least 4% GDP to education in order to fulfill its commitment to provide universal early childhood education in schools. Provision of equitable access to education for girls along with special mention of quality education to children with special needs is promised. The party pledges to overhaul the quality of the education by providing state of the art school infrastructure and fostering technology-led pedagogy methods. It promises to promote teaching culture that instills creativity, analytical abilities and cultural values In order to curtail the exploitation of the private education sector, the party promises to bring it under the strict regulatory control. Children belonging to poor segment of the society will be provided scholarships through which they will be able to overcome the barriers set up by their lower economic disposition.
With reference to health, the most important goal of PML-N is to provide universal access to preventive and primary healthcare to children and mothers. For the purpose of improving the food intake of children and reducing the incidence rate of stunting and malnutrition, a special nutrition focused strategy “First 1000 days’’ will be implemented. The party will ensure a 20% increase in annual expenditure on health, ramping up the budget allocation to at least 2% of GDP by 2023. It is committed to eradicate polio and expand the immunization coverage to 90%. The manifesto fails to explicitly mention the issue of child sexual abuse but promises to tackle Violence against Children through by allowing complaint registration and maintaining the anonymity of the victim.
Awami National Party (ANP) is mainly a regional party contesting in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but it promises to increase the health and education budget to 6% of GDP – so far the highest figure claimed by any party. It lays emphasis on mother and child healthcare, provision of clean drinking water and preventive healthcare. It promises to improve the literacy rates of girls by 25%; and to raise the school enrolment and minimize dropout rate especially of girls. ANP is the only party that has given special attention to issues of child labor; it says that it will review, legislate and implement child labor laws to ensure that children under the age of 16 years do not work in all formal and informal sectors including domestic sector. It has also committed to implement the Juvenile Justice system with emphasis on education and rehabilitation facilities. It also says that it will make efforts to prohibit all forms of Violence against Children such as corporal punishment, sexual abuse, and kidnapping. It also commits to strengthen the National Human Rights Commission with provincial & district chapters to monitor the status of Child Rights.
The Mutahhida Qaumi Movement (MQM) also promises reform the education sector by improving the quality of teaching in schools and regulating the religious seminaries. In the health sector, it promises to ensure the full coverage of EPI (Extended Program of Immunization); to raise allocation for education to 5% of GDP; and to take measures against child abuse, child labor, domestic violence and child marriages.
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) has set an ambitious target of achieving a 100% literacy rate in the coming five years. It says that it will allocate 5% of GDP and 25% of the provincial budget to education. Islamic education including hadith and Quran teaching will be made compulsory at the elementary level. Education reforms will focus on the character building of children and youth. The party will lay stress on the children health care and early childhood development. As an alternative to co-education, the party has proposed to establish separate schools and sports complex for girls.
The only thing relating to children in Balochistan National Party’s (BNP) manifesto relates to establishment of 11,000 new primary schools and up gradation of 1,200 middle schools in Balochistan.
It is difficult to say at the moment as to who will come to power. The children of Pakistan only wish that whoever is at the helm of affairs, they will give a little more attention to them as well.
The Last Stop 