Future at stake: None to look after the street children in Gilgit

Noor November 18, 2013

1 minute read

A young girl search a trash drum to find something valuable. A large number of the street children in Gilgit are non-locals, who come to the city with their families during the summers. Photo: Mon Digital

Many young children start working to support their families. Photo: Mon Digital

Photographs: Mon Digital

Gilgit, November 18: A very large number of children, both local and non-local, can be seen roaming the streets of Gilgit city, collecting trash or asking for money. These children are not only deprived of the opportunities to have a healthy lifestyle, they are also exposed to numerous social evils.

The government of Gilgit-Baltistan has not been able to devise any policy to cope with this situation.

The exact number of children earning their livelihood in the streets of GIlgit is not available because no concrete study has been conducted in this regard by any organization. Photo: Mon Digital

If no action is taken in this regard, the trend of children being on the streets and jeopardizing their future, will increase immensely and more families will be affected.

These photographs have been taken by PT Correspondent, Mon Shereen, during the last two years and they depict the perils that our future faces, as a whole.

A child selling toys in Gilgit, at a time of his life when he should be playing with the same toys. Photo: Mon Digital

Two young kids counting money in the corner of a street in Gilgit. At this tender age the chances of young kids falling prey to social evils is very high.

In the absence of child friendly policies and legislation the government's ability to take concrete steps for the welfare of these children is very limited — In the absence of child friendly policies and legislation the government’s ability to take concrete steps for the welfare of these children is very limited. Photo: Mon Digital

According to child labor survey of Pakistan, around 3.3 million children below 14 years of are working as laborers in Pakistan. This includes both boys and girls — boys form 73 pc and the girls 27 pc of the child labour.

While the national statistics may not be fully relevant for Gilgit-Baltistan, there is an urgent need to nib the trend in the bud and enable these children to build their futures in accordance with their dreams.