Though in developed countries special care is taken for the education, skill development and upbringing of children who do not have families or face any other problems, Pakistan lacks such arrangements. There is even no helpline for children to approach in case of any problem.

During the last few months, two minor maids were reported to the capital police after they were allegedly tortured by their employers.

But the police were unable even to hand over the girls to their parents because it was learnt that the families had willingly sent them to the capital from different parts of Punjab to work as maids.

Besides, the parents were not willing to take action against the employers for torturing their daughters.

The first incident took place in the house of a serving judge where a 10-year-old maid was allegedly tortured. Initially, the police in their report stated that the girl, identified as Tayyaba, had fallen from the stairs and was accidentally burnt. However, when the chief justice of the Islamabad High Court and then the chief justice of Pakistan took notice of the matter, a medical board was constituted to examine her on Jan 6.

However, the girl disappeared. Two days later, she was recovered from the suburb of Islamabad and examined by the medical board.

Tayyaba was initially sent to the Pakistan Sweet Home but later shifted to the SOS Village on the direction of the apex court.

In the second case, an 11-year-old maid was allegedly tortured by her employers in the E-11 sector of Islamabad. A medical board of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) confirmed that she was tortured.

After the incidents, questions arose where such children should be kept because they cannot be sent to their families who never take such issues seriously.

But such incidents may never be stopped as on the one hand poor families have no choice but to send their daughters to work as maids and on the other frustrated employers would be using their maids as punching bags to reduce their frustration.

Chief Executive Officer of the United Global Organisation of Development Syed Ishtiaq Gilani told Dawn that it was a very serious issue and needed especial attention from the state.

“We have observed that there is no place for children who face such a situation. There is no institute to keep such children in and provide them their rights. Even there is no helpline for children or anyone else to lodge a complaint after noticing such a violation of the child rights.”

He said at present the Sweet Home was one of the best institutions where children were getting education from quality schools. “But when we did a need-based assessment, we reached the conclusion that the children had no life after schooling,” Mr Gilani said.

“In October last year, five children died when a fire erupted in a sweet home at Mirpurkhas. This showed that the staff and even the watchmen were not trained. There is a need to take steps for the capacity building of all the institutions and ensure that they provided all the facilities and rights to the children under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which Pakistan ratified in 1990 and its optional protocol on sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography in 2011,” he said.

“Under the convention, the government of Pakistan submits a report to the UN after every five years. But we also submit a shadow report along with that of the government but every time government functionaries criticise us for becoming a matter of embarrassment for the country. We say the government should address the issues instead of trying to hide them,” he said.

“Moreover, in 2009, the UN urged the government to establish an independent commission to monitor, protect and promote the rights of children. The National Commission on the Rights of the Child (NCRC) Bill 2015 has been passed by the National Assembly and we are trying to get it passed from the Senate too,” he said.

In reply to a question, Mr Gilani said in the Tayyaba torture case he contacted a number of departments but they were not ready to take action saying it was not their mandate.

“When we contacted the child protection centre Rawalpindi, they also said they cannot take action as the incident had taken place outside their jurisdiction. I believe 80pc problems will be addressed if the NCRC is established,” he said.

According to the draft of the bill, the NCRC will be headed by a chairperson who would be not less than 45 years of age and have at least 15 years of experience in the field of child rights.

There will be representation from all the provinces, the Islamabad capital territory and Fata. Moreover, heads of the National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR), NCSW along with other personalities will be members of the commission.

The commission will examine or propose legislation related to the child rights, ensure implementation of the child rights laws, inquire into violation of a child right and recommend to relevant agencies to initiate proceedings.

It will examine all the factors responsible for violence, abuse, exploitation, trafficking, torture etc. It will encourage research and maintain a database on children.

The commission will also hold dialogues on the child rights, examine international recommendations and advise the federal government to sign or ratify any international treaty.

The commission shall prepare an annual report on the situation of the child rights in the country.

Child rights activist and member of the Child Rights Movement (CRM) Habiba Salman expressed the hope that the bill would be passed by the Senate so that the commission can be established. The commission would have the power to take suo motu notices and seek explanations from any department or agency, she added.

“After the establishment of the commission, Pakistan will be one of the few countries to have the NCRC,” she said.

Jalal Akbar of the Jalal Foundation, which is working for the welfare of children suffering from the Down syndrome, said parents abandoned their children suffering from the syndrome and even such children did not find any place to live in.

“Private organisations cannot resolve these issues. It is the job of the government to ensure that all facilities and rights are provided to the children,” he said.

Down syndrome occurs when an individual has a full or partial extra copy of chromosome in his body.

Babies born with the Down syndrome usually have flat facial features, small head and ears, short neck, bulging tongue, eyes that slant upward and poor muscles.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2017