Tag: children

  • Major win for Shehzad Roy as court bans corporal punishment for kids

    Major win for Shehzad Roy as court bans corporal punishment for kids

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday suspended Section 89 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and banned the practice of corporal (physical) punishment by parents, guardians and teachers on children.

    The decision was announced after singer-activist Shehzad Roy filed a petition in court to ban the use of violence to discipline children. A division bench of the IHC presided by Chief Justice Athar Minallah, suspended the PPC section until further notice.

    Section 89 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 (No XLV) allows parents, teachers and other guardians to use moderate and reasonable corporal punishment as a means to correct the behaviour of children below 12 years of age.

    In his petition, Roy claimed that Section 89 is contradictory to the Constitution as it violates basic human rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

    “Punishing children is being considered as essential for improving learning. News of torture and punishment of children have been reported every day in the media” read the petition.

    Justice Minallah, during the hearing, remarked that the country’s parliament had adopted a bill barring corporal punishment for children in 2013. The bill was not passed into law due to a technicality.

    Roy’s lawyer maintained that his client wanted the High Court to prevent violence against children until relevant legislation is passed.

    “Corporal punishment affects a child’s mental and physical health,” he asserted.

    After hearing the arguments, Justice Minallah directed the interior ministry to take immediate steps to protect the rights of children and asked for a reply from the federal government on the matter by March 5.

    Roy took to Twitter to express his gratitude over the IHC decision.

    Earlier, while speaking to the media outside the Islamabad High Court, Roy had said, “When a child is born, parents hit him, when he goes to school, teachers hit him, when he grows older and goes out in the society, police hits him to make him a better person. Research shows that the use of violence only increases violence.”

    Journalists, actors and members of the civil society lauded Roy for his initiative and hailed the court’s decision.

  • Kasur police want to educate children to curb child abuse

    Kasur police want to educate children to curb child abuse

    The Kasur DPO wants to educate children about the difference between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ touches to curb rising cases of child abuse.

    The police is holding lectures at schools to educate children about their rights. The police have also recovered 80 missing children. Community Liaison officers have appointed to arrange lectures on child rights.

    A sermon has been shared with all mosques so that they can share it with people on Friday prayer. Moreover, cases are being heard at an open court at the DPO office every day. A tent has been set up for the purpose too.

    The police have started profiling the entire district. A list of all sexual offenders has been prepared and the police have even identified places where bodies were dumped. Efforts are being made to ensure regular inspections of police stations and their performance. According to the police, the percentage of complaint redressal has risen to 78% from 19% since the new DPO took charge.

  • Study reveals women are happier without children or a spouse

    Study reveals women are happier without children or a spouse

    A new study by a leading expert in happiness has revealed that unmarried and childless women are the happiest and are more likely to live longer.

    Paul Dolan, a professor of behavioural science at the London School of Economics, said the latest evidence showed that the traditional markers used to measure success did not correlate with happiness – particularly marriage and raising children. He said that married people only say they’re happy when their spouse is in the room. But when they’re not, they say they’re miserable.

    He further shared that men benefited from marriage because they “calmed down, took fewer risks, earned more money at work, and lived a little longer.” Their health even benefited from marriage. Women’s health, on the other hand, remained mostly unaffected, though middle-aged married women are at higher risk of physical and mental conditions than their single counterparts. They are also likely to die earlier.

    “The healthiest and happiest population subgroup are women who never married or had children,” Dolan said.

    While other studies have measured some financial and health benefits in being married, for both men and women on average, Dolan says those could be attributed to higher incomes and emotional support, which allow married people to take risks and seek medical help.

    Despite the benefits of a single, childless lifestyle for women, Dolan said that the existing narrative that marriage and children were signs of success meant that the stigma could lead some single women to feel unhappy.