KARACHI: Eminent actor Saba Qamar was announced the first national ambassador in Pakistan for child rights by Unicef on Friday afternoon at the Karachi office of the UN agency responsible for providing humanitarian aid to children all over the world.

The Unicef representative in Pakistan, Abdullah Fadil, sat next to Ms Qamar. He spoke first. He said he’s delighted to announce her as the first national ambassador for child in Pakistan.

“Children in Pakistan face enormous challenges. Twenty-six million children are out of school; 40 per cent of children are stunted; 120m children’s families face lack of access to safe water; 19m girls are married under the age of 18,” he said.

He said Unicef can’t overcome these challenges alone, therefore everyone, from the public sector, civil society and notable personalities etc need to come together for the cause.

The actor says she’s honoured to be the face of the UN agency in country

“We believe Saba’s voice can deliberate critical discussions on child rights. She’s a brave and passionate advocate of individual rights… At Unicef we always carry hope. In Urdu and Arabic, the name Saba means the breeze that blows from the east to the west. We believe that Saba will prove to be a breath of fresh air to bring a new life and energy to child rights agenda in Pakistan.”

He said on International Day of the Girl Child, which is observed every year on Oct 11, one could not find a better person to advocate for the rights of children than Ms Qamar.

Ms Qamar said she’s honoured to be the face of Unicef.

She said: “I believe every child deserves to have quality education. In the last three days I visited different areas of Sindh where I met children and women. I noticed that there’s a need for drinking water, a basic requirement for living. They don’t have clean water to drink. They don’t have an education system. We need to do a lot.

“Unicef has been working on these issues for decades, but one organisation or one ambassador can’t bring about the change that a nation can bring together. Together we can make a difference. The most painful thing that I saw there was that young girls at the age of 10, 12 and 14 were getting married. At that age you need to learn, grow… you need validation, you get to know yourself, you need your parents’ love, you need education. At that age you’re developing your personality… And that age, girls getting married is a crime. We need to break this chain. And for that to happen jahalat must end,” she added.

The actor said awareness was required to highlight the issue. “I couldn’t sleep last night [after meeting those young girls]. I cried. I feel so blessed. God has been so kind to me. I have everything: name, fame and a voice. I have been working for 20 years and thought to myself what good my life is if I can’t help others… I need everyone’s support in this, including the media’s. I want to bring about change.”

After the media talk, the agreement of ambassadorship was signed between the actor and Unicef during which Ms Qamar asked what date it was. She was told its Oct 11.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2024