PAKISTAN’S children in prison have often been treated like adult criminals. The Sindh government’s programme to educate 4,684 children of convicted prisoners in the province is a glimmer of light in a dark space. The scheme — an initiative of the education and prisons departments and Paigham-i-Pakistan — offers complete educational support in private and government institutions to children born in jails. But the government has to be mindful of the fact that its failure to serve as a blanket policy for all juveniles will lead to controversy. Statistics issued by the Sindh Prisons and Corrections Service in 2023 showed that 385 juvenile offenders — 106 of them under 16 years of age and 100 under the age of 18 — languished in prisons across the province. Sadly, these numbers have seen a substantial rise, yet their treatment indicates that they are not seen as the nation’s children.

Children should not be in prison. To understand this, the authorities ought to delve deeper into the psychology of jail where alienation and harsh conditions shape the young into hardened offenders. Childhoods marred by poverty, abuse and being left out of school often lead to serious violations; research shows that juveniles exposed to conventional criminal justice systems are prone to repeating criminal behaviour. For worthy measures to succeed, the government has to own and prioritise the young in conflict with the law by ensuring stringent implementation of the Juvenile Justice System Act, 2018, which says that anyone under the age of 18 is to be seen as a child. Secondly, Sindh must establish remand homes in each city. Currently, even the long sanctioned one in Nawabshah is not operational. A reformative, rehabilitative environment with decent living conditions, counselling, skill training and education may ensure that the jailed young are not condemned to a life of deliquency. Impressionable minds exposed to apathy cannot contribute to society.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2025