Children Parliamentarians demanded strict laws against child trafficking and special trainings for their self defence in this regard, in a session of Children Parliament of Pakistan (CPP) organised by SPARC here on Monday. While talking to Pakistan Today, SPARC Child Rights Coordinator Shaista Kiran said the basic objective of Children Parliament of Pakistan (CPP) was to ensure rights for children by ending child labour, educating children and by providing them with medical facilities. “It is a voice of children and conveys problems faced by them,” she maintained.
She said members of the Children Parliament are elected from different schools of Islamabad and different districts of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan for one year.
During the session, members had a detailed discussion on child protection issues like child labour, bonded labour, corporal punishment, early marriages, child kidnapping and juvenile justice. They highlighted the physical and psychological impacts of early and forced child marriages and criticised the difference in marriageable age for boys (18) and girls (16).
They expressed concern on the growing incidents of child kidnapping for ransom, trafficking for narcotics smuggling, begging, prostitution or other purposes. They said poverty, large families, drop out from schools and eagerness for easy money had increasing such incidents.
Members condemned the brutal killing of a young man by rangers and recalled the incident when two brothers were killed by a mob in Sialkot. Members shared their annual progress with the house and highlighted their individual efforts and initiatives for child rights.
Regional assembly passed resolutions on the provision of electricity, computer equipment, trained teachers, protection of children against drug addiction and training for self defence against kidnapping and trafficking.
“We can represent sufferings of poor children through this parliament and this process has helped me in boosting up my confidence level. In addition, it has strengthened my decision power,” speaker assembly Muhammad Arsalan Latif told Pakistan Today,
Nimra Tehlil, a 12 years old parliamentarian from Chakwal, said she belonged to rural areas which had helped her gain a sense of responsibility and confidence.
Sharing their views at the end, parliamentarians appreciated the Children Parliament’s initiative, saying they have become well-informed about child rights and their role in protecting child rights. The session concluded with distribution of certificates among the parliamentarians. MNA Tahir Hanfi advised children to continue with their efforts for child rights and distributed certificates.
