Right to education

I get climate anxiety. Five years ago, I stopped reading the news. Because I chose to work where I could actually make a difference. I chose my battleground.

Pakistan is constitutionally bound by Article 25-A of its Constitution to provide free and compulsory education for children aged 5-16, and it has pledged to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals for inclusive education by 2030.

According to a new report released by the international humanitarian organisation, Save the Children, approximately 25,000 children are still living in makeshift tents in Afghanistan’s Kunar province.

Violence against children emerged as another pressing issue. The committee raised alarms over sexual violence, particularly against boys, gender-based violence, corporal punishment, and online abuse.

Late at night at the Khamarbari intersection, groups of nearly 40 displaced individuals –including many children – huddle around small fires made from burning scraps of wood and paper. The flickering flames offer fleeting warmth against the biting chill, but the bare pavement beneath them provides no cushion or protection. Children in thin, filthy sweaters shiver as they chat or try to sleep, their bodies pressed together for shared heat.

The new campaign criticises the international community’s shift toward what the group calls “silence and normalization.” Despite widespread initial outrage, some countries have engaged with the Taliban on pragmatic grounds.

As the government prepares to publish more detailed data and possibly a national action plan, child rights activists are urging stakeholders to prioritise transparency, victim support and preventative outreach – especially in vulnerable communities where children remain at greatest risk.

Many experts emphasise the need for conditional cash transfer programmes, improved rural schooling, transportation support for students, and vocational training initiatives to ensure that families are not forced to choose between survival and education.