Lahore:
After the devastation caused by heavy rains and catastrophic floods in 2022, many people joined to provide humanitarian aid by food, clothes and medicine to affected families.
However, no help could restore the future of innocent children whose life has been upset. Muhammad Arsalan, a 12 -year -old boy, was found working in a Gulberg store. Originally from Rajanpur, Arsalan had lived with a parent in Lahore for three years. Before the floods, Arsalan was a class 4 student, but when the disaster struck in 2022, his house and school were completely destroyed, forcing him and his family to flee to Lahore.
“When the reconstruction of houses in my hometown was over, my parents and four brothers and sisters come back, but they left me behind since I started working for 200 rupees per day,” said Arsalan.
Like Arsalan, thousands of children across the country have been forced to deal with reverse and similar challenges due to the impacts of climate change. The floods of 2022, in particular, decimated schools from Punjab, Sindh and Balutchistan, leaving thousands of children without access to education for months.
The United Nations figures also revealed that two million children have not returned to classrooms once the floods had calmed down.
According to Nadeem Ashraf, member of the National Commission for Human Rights in Punjab, following the 2022 floods, many schools in the affected areas were completely destroyed or seriously affected, due to which educational activities have remained suspended for several months. “Nearly 1.5 million children were moved following the floods. Displaced children have not only fought on a school level, but have also suffered from various diseases, including skin diseases and gastrointestinal diseases.
The process of recovery after migration is long and difficult and the families affected, in particular women and children, are faced with uncertainty and insecurity, “said Ashraf. Iftikhar Mubarak, Executive Director of Research for Justice, said the fact that children, who were the most vulnerable segment of society, suffered the most from climate crises.
“During the devastating floods of 2022, countless educational establishments were destroyed and the education of children was suddenly suspended. Likewise, recently, the closure of the provinces of the SMOG crisis has once again disrupted education,” noted Mubarak. Mubarak also considered that the economic distress caused by climate change has caused child labor. “When parents, in particular those involved in agriculture or breeding, lose their livelihoods, children are often forced to work as workers to support the household financially. Consequently, uncertainty and disturbances caused by climate change can create a feeling of insecurity and fear in children, affecting their emotional and social development,” he added.
On the other hand, Fatima Tahir, a clinical psychologist, was of the opinion that the climate crisis touched girls in Pakistan disproportionately. “After disasters such as floods and droughts, girls are forced to assume additional responsibilities in households, which hinders their education and development.
In addition, limited access to support resources and systems, health and travel risks disrupts girls’ education, increasing their risk of exploitation and abuse. In addition, financial difficulties increase the probability of minor or forced marriages, which removes the right of the girl from education, ”said Tahir.
Climate weddings indeed appeared as an important challenge, with 45 minor girls married in a single village in the inner Sindh during the monsoon rains last year. According to data provided by the Sindh police inspector general to the Sindh House service, 57 children’s wedding cases were recorded in eight Sindh districts between 2018 and 2023.
