Educate young people about reproductive health services

Young people are defined as those aged 10 to 24 years. This group includes adolescents aged between 10 and 19 years as well as youth aged from 15 to 24 years. It is in this age range that most young people begin to actively explore their sexuality and, therefore, require sexual and reproductive health information and services.

Although young people have sexual and reproductive health rights, society has in most cases ignored this aspect, often perceiving them as “young” in the sense that they do not, or should not even have any sexual reproductive health needs at all. Evidence shows us that the sexual and reproductive health rights of young people are important and should be made a priority.

Ignoring the sexual and reproductive health rights of young people will not stop them from having sex or even early pregnancies. Similarly, it does not imply that they are too young to make reproductive health decisions. On almost daily basis, we see young people making reproductive health decisions. Unfortunately, many times these decisions are based on ignorance and lack of information. For instance, the fact that in Uganda one in four teenage girls (24 per cent) has had a baby or is pregnant shows that teenage girls are sexually active. Denying them their rights to reproductive health information and services, including family planning, is wrong.

According to a study carried out by the World Health Organisation in 2006, if the sexual reproductive health needs of young people are to be met, there should be a focus on training service providers, improving health facilities as well as informing and mobilising communities to generate demand and community support.

Community mobilisation works as an avenue for creating awareness in the community so as to create a supportive environment for the youth to freely access sexual reproductive health services. Mobilisation and sentisation, however, can only work if complimented with building community support, which is a prerequisite if we are to ensure that young people freely access reproductive health services.

This approach requires a comprehensive approach that involves interventions targeting three audiences, including the young people, their parents or care takers, teachers for those in school as well as health providers who could also help the youth out of school.

Notable among the successful interventions to increase community support include sensitisation programmes such mass media outreaches that involve the youth, parents, teachers and community leaders. Others include community education or information sessions, which should be carried out in locations close to health facilities so that in case the young people need to access services, they are referred to the facilities in close proximity to where they are.

Such interventions often have a positive impact on both the young people and the wider community as they promote dialogue among both groups, encouraging young people to utilise the services provided without feeling judged.

Communities, therefore, need to be mobilised to join efforts geared towards providing services to meet the sexual reproductive health needs of young people. This in the end will create opportunities for increased demand for the services as well as an enabling environment where young people will feel that they can freely access these services without being judged by their families and communities. 

 

Source:  http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Commentary/Educate-young-people-about-reproductive-health-services/-/689364/1910886/-/svyq2y/-/index.html

Family Planning: It’s Time to Empower the Next Generation

Across East Africa, the majority of young adolescents are living without choice. With little or no access to modern contraceptives and family planning education, they lack the ability to choose when to become pregnant and even how many children to have. This lack of choice can have devastating consequences for their future life. 

Consider Maureen’s story:

Maureen is a young girl aged 12 living in Uganda. Naturally she doesn’t talk about sex with her parents. As in many other cultures, sex is strictly taboo, which wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for the high incidence of teenage pregnancies, infant and maternal death rates, and rise in HIV infections that plague her community. One day her period starts. Too ashamed to return to school, she drops out and begins hanging around with a local group from her neighbourhood. Without access to contraceptives, she soon becomes pregnant. Due to her young age, complications arise during delivery and although her baby survives, she develops an obstetric fistula causing her to involuntary leak urine and faeces. Shunned from the community, she remains indoors until her family eventually tire of her and she is cast out to fend for herself.

Fortunately, due to the intervention of global initiatives and the work of organisations like DSW (Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevoelkerung) in Eastern Africa, this situation is gradually changing for the better. More and more young people are making better and more informed decisions and choices – in other words, they are taking control over their lives.

Let’s consider Maureen’s story after DSW’s involvement in her district:

Maureen is a young girl aged 12 living in Uganda. Due to the intervention of DSW’s “Young Adolescents Project” in the region which aimed at removing barriers faced by young adolescents (10 to 14 years) in accessing age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health and rights information; her parents, teachers, and community leaders maintain an open and honest atmosphere when it comes to sex education, especially given the high incidence of teenage pregnancies, infant and maternal death rates, and HIV infections that once plagued their community. Maureen is introduced to the topic at a young age, has all her questions answered, and knows how to avoid an unintended pregnancy. She is prepared for her period and is not ashamed when it starts. She remains in school and passes with good grades enabling her to go to university. When she is ready, she decides how many children she would like to have. Her future is bright and open.

Link:  http://www.impatientoptimists.org/Posts/2013/08/Family-Planning-Its-Time-to-Empower-the-Next-Generation

Adolescent pregnancy: Speakers stress on laws to ban early marriages

The burden of overpopulation does not only create problems in the job market and other sectors, but also adds to an unsafe law and order situation. These views were shared by experts who believed that Pakistan could counter many of its problems, especially the rate of crime, by controlling its population.

At a seminar on ‘Adolescent Pregnancy’, organised by the Sindh population department on Friday, the speakers said that Pakistan was a signatory to an international agreement which stipulates that a girl below the age of 18 years cannot be married. The country’s law, however, allows a 16-year-old girl to enter marriage.

Officials and health experts agreed that multiple issues – such as crime, water shortage, illiteracy, unrest and shortage of food – could not be resolved until and unless the growth of population was controlled.

“Marriage is a happy moment for a woman, not a girl,” said Shrutidhar Tripathi of the United Nations Population Fund, adding that teenage marriages had created several issues in developing states.

Sindh Population Minister Syed Ali Mardan Shah stressed that population growth was a serious issue in Pakistan. “We all have to work together to overcome this challenge. Our department is committed to working day and night and I believe we’ll be able to make a difference soon, at least in Sindh,” he said.

The department’s secretary, Muhammad Saleem Raza, was in agreement and said that the department will educate girls about early marriages so that they were more aware.

Talking about the consequences of the population explosion, the additional secretary Syed Ashfaq Ali Shah said that despite the lower birth rate in Sindh, there were many issues that the government had to tackle. “The birth rate which was 6.3 per cent in 1970 is now down to 3.6 per cent but it is still high compared to developed states – this is because of early marriages.”

Problems in the making

“Only 35 per cent of the population in Pakistan uses methods of contraception. The percentage in Bangladesh is even better than ours at 56 per cent,” he said.

Highlighting the affects on a teenage mother and her child, Dr Irshad Shaikh said that safe and clean births was another serious issue which women in Pakistan were facing.

“We are destroying our youth. Early marriages also increase crime and other social problems – we need to look at the basic issues and commit to overcoming these problems,” Dr Yasmeen Abbasi said.

In Dr Ayoob Shaikh’s opinion, early marriages should be banned like the government had imposed bans on drugs. “It is a curse,” said Dr Shaikh, adding that normal deliveries were not common in rural areas and other cities of Sindh. “This is an issue which has crippled our women and the government needs pay attention to it.”

Source:  http://tribune.com.pk/story/576649/adolescent-pregnancy-speakers-stress-on-laws-to-ban-early-marriages/

Youth Parliament of Pakistan and its contribution to national development

More than half of 5,000 18-29 year-old Pakistanis polled said democracy had not been good for them or the country.Furthermore, 94% said Pakistan was going in the wrong direction - a figure up from 50% in 2007.

Making up almost a third of registered voters, the under-30s are expected to play a big part in Pakistan's general elections in May.When asked to pick the best political system, both Sharia law and military rule were favoured over democracy.

The survey points towards a pessimistic generation, disenchanted with democracy after 5 years of civilian rule, says the BBC's Orla Guerin in Islamabad.Most of those surveyed had more faith in the army than any other institution: Its approval rating was about 70% compared with just 13% for the government.

A quarter of respondents said they had been directly affected by violence, or had witnessed a serious violent event.That figure rose to more than 60% in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

The greatest concern for most was rising prices, not terrorism: Almost 70% said they were worse off now than five years ago.While many young people are registered to vote, less than half of those surveyed said they were certain they would do so.

Source: http://www.defence.pk/forums/social-issues-current-events/243558-pakistani-youth-favors-sharia-law-over-democracy.html

 

Who is Responsible?

Violence against women and girls is a problem of pandemic magnitude around the globe. At least one out of every three women around the world has been the victim of violation, beaten by the dominants, intimidated into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime or suffered domestic violence. For the Elimination of Violence against Women, in 1999, the UN General Assembly selected 25 November as the International Day to raise the awareness among the people of the world to stop such inhuman activities against women.

According to the Thomson Reuters Foundation expert poll (June 2011) Pakistan is ranked third dangerous country of the world for the women due to the high crime magnitude against women whereas Afghanistan is ranked as first dangerous country and Congo as second, India as forth and Somalia as fifth country for women and girls due to a barrage of threats ranging from violence and rape to dismal health-care, domestic violence and honor killings. The report states that 90 % women in Pakistan are suffering domestic violence, based on assessments by gender experts, while one in every three experiences some form of violence such as rape, honor killing, immolation, acid attacks, murdering and verbal or psychological abuse.

There is 13 % increase in crime rate against women in the last three years according to the police stations, courts and complaint cells whereas most of the cases are not reported due to social norms, self-respect, domestic preventions and cultural taboos.

The cases of violation against the women in 2011 which were reported to the police stations, courts, complaint cells and other organizations are estimated by different resources which defines crime magnitude as some 3,035 cases of violence against women in Punjab, 1,195 women had been murdered, 98 had been raped before they were killed, 321 women were raped, and 194 were gang-raped. This is a little snapshot of the crime magnitude against the women and girls in Pakistan in 2011.

After such gruesome activities take place in the country some questions spring in the mind of any sensible person regarding women rights such as where are the law enforcement organizations? What role are they playing in protecting the women rights? What the judiciary is implementing to forbid such criminal accidents? Where are the NGOs which claim to fight for the women rights? Isn’t there any act in the constitution designed to stop violation against women if yes then why it is not being implemented by the authorities?

There is no need to look so far into the history of law enforcement to protect women rights, let’s take into account the recent bill which is passed in 2011 demanding greater social protection for women. The Prevention of Anti-Women Practices (Criminal Law Amendment) Act 2011, authored by PML-Q MNA Dr. Donya Aziz, was unanimously passed by the National Assembly as well as the Senate. Amendments which are introduced in the Act 2011 include forcing a woman into marriage for settling a dispute to be a non-bailable offence, bartering a woman in such a way to be punishable by three to five years imprisonment and a fine of Rs0.5 million, depriving a woman of her inheritance can lead to imprisonment of between five and 10 years or a fine of Rs 1 million, Forced marriages to be punishable by between three and 10 years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 0.5 million, throwing acid on women will be hanged or imprisoned and forcing a woman to “marry” the Holy Quran to result in a jail term of three to seven years and a fine of Rs 0.5 million.

For more details:  http://www.womag.pk/who-is-responsible/

Future of Pakistan in Hands of the Youth

Youth all over the world through history, has been a revolutionary force. It is the precious asset and opulence that can revive a nation going through hard time. Youth of a nation can do wonders if availed, trained, educated and informed in an optimum fashion. Literally it refers to all the human force in a nation lying between the age group of 18 – 29 years. Though tender an age, yet the intellect, physical strength and wisdom it possesses has no parallel.

Pakistan, our much-loved homeland; is passing through challenging times in regard to economic, social and political turmoil. Crime rate is increasing, with a fast depletion of natural resources, deteriorating agriculture and power shortages, with instances of severe human right violation and sufferings of the common man. There are demonstrations and strikes, brutalities and scourge that affect hundreds everyday. In such a chaos there is still a huge quantum of hope along side, there is anticipation and prospects en route for accomplishment and triumph. Consequently, there is a huge responsibility lying on the young generation’s shoulders, towards nation building. To bring the state of affairs back on track the youth has to play its proactive role to help change things for better, and to revive the state of affairs from getting worse.

Literally a tolerant society refers to the one which supports for practices that prohibit ethnic and religious discrimination, and likewise a peaceful society is the one undisturbed by strife, turmoil, or disagreement, there is existence of a tranquil environment . An amalgam of the aforementioned traits, which are a prerequisite of an ideal society, will lead to good governance and democratic practices. Thus in the long run it will determine the state of well being of the nation. In Pakistan, one of the main hurdles towards progress and development has been the continuous intolerance and restlessness among all segments of the society, leg pulling of the political leaderships and democratic rulers, which eventually led to undemocratic practices over the course of the past decades. Youth, especially students have been exploited for the self interests of different pressure groups. Hence, in present time the youth has to differentiate and target the required sources to prevent the history from repeating itself; hence join hands for the cause of the nation.

Youth comprises the major portion of the demography in Pakistan. An educated and well informed youth can revive the present state of restlessness in the country. However, we shall elucidate the youth role towards a peaceful and tolerant society in an elaborate manner. It follows a hierarchical procedure in order to trigger, implement and then maintain a desired state of mind among the people. Theory without practice is of little use. Change and innovation needs to be implemented at the grass root level for sufficient and desirable outcomes.

Foremost of all youth should avail their right to vote, which can and certainly will bring a desired change with their huge power in term of population and strength, in the political and social arena. They should make an active use of their civic rights like freedom of speech, form groups for certain national interests; attend to conferences, use Internet, avail the press, radio and television, by offering an article or feature in the newspapers, holding press conferences, distributing hand-outs for sharing their particular point of view among others, and should report on the problems facing the nation in an objective manner with responsibility. Youth should get motivated to becoming part of commissions and participate in youth action plans; which will give a vent to the voice of the youth in an effective manner. Such forums can help in policy making specifically for the youth betterment and in general for public welfare. Consequently, a society built on the needs, wants and demands of its majority populace will be a justice provoking and tolerant one in kind.

Youth participation in governance related issue is essential to have a corruption free society in our country. Youth should advocate against any discrepancies and incongruity that affects the socio political culture within Pakistan. Student unions and groups can mobilize and advocate their point of view by writing to newspapers, participating in media, internet blogs, net communities, and magazines; by pressurizing the authorities to bring those elements answerable to the court of law. A sense of responsibility among all the citizens and among the youth in specific can trigger change towards a tolerant and peaceful society. Henceforth, an educated and proactive youth can find solutions in a peaceful manner rather than deteriorating the affairs.

Youth should get motivated and also encourage their peers, colleagues and friends to bring about a change n the mind set of the whole nation towards critically analyzing the on going state of affairs in the society and bring all the possible solutions at a table; by joining hands together with various stake holders including the private sector, Non-government organizations, the educational institutions and citizen groups. Dissecting and analyzing the basic cause of the problem will lead to a better understanding of the problem and will lead to health some solutions. Rather than engraving extremism, intolerance and hatred; there will be a rational decision making with more effective outcomes. For instance, the on going sugar, power or fuel shortage ;the youth should be curious and inquisitive enough to support rational decision making and hence educate the people to all the means mentioned before. This will lead to reduction of frustration in the minds of the people. An idea, to conserve resources and help the government achieve its objectives can be a stance adopted by youth. Possessing a better awareness and analysis, there will be a positive drift towards the conservation of resources rather than hatred and an unpatriotic feeling towards the state and the government. However, after achievement of the primary goal; as a secondary achievement the youth together as a coercive force should raise their voice for the conservation of resources by the Government run institutes and representatives. So, that together the public and private sector can reduce the sense of dispossession, disparity and hatred among the masses.

Youth; having all the strength of the physical and mental abilities; possessing the superiority of their power as a dominant demographic group can over come the differences and sense of deprivation existing between the provinces. Student Groups; or individuals at the floor of all forums should inculcate patriotism and nationhood among the youth from other areas all over the country. Keeping the national interest ahead everything and anything else, and crossing the barriers of language and culture, youth should amalgamate and seek solutions to all problems. Understanding, analyzing and then finding solutions to the demands of a deprived group; Youth should propose solutions based on justice and efficient participation.

For the matter of fact, one of the major causes behind intolerance in Pakistan is the poor performance of the bureaucracy and government officials over the past few decades. Now, in order to revive and revitalize the system of government, Youth should seek admissions into the Civil Services of Pakistan, as it would provide an honest workforce keeping in view the factors of moral and mental determination of the youth, which will lead to a better functioning of the systems.

Youth of today is vulnerable to many external influences in the Pakistani society. The individual youth, at the level of its own individual entity needs to create a balance between his internal dynamics and external influences. Internal dynamics should be firm and persistent enough that pity matters should not overcome the emotional and psychological aspects of an individual mind. However, in the state of a paradox, conflict resolution between individual desires and available resources has to be disentangled with a mature and considerate approach. Only, when the individual young mind is firm and determined; can the whole society reform. In case the individual young mind of a youth is in a state of conflict and discord, then many similar souls will together perish the whole society with intolerant and highly irritable outcomes and consequences. Such a practice in societies consequently leads to unrest and anarchy.

The next level at which tolerance needs to be sustained is the family life and with friends and peers. Youth should start by helping each other with the little chores to execute. Self discipline and helping each other should be made a part of daily routine. Teams should be made to complete the tasks assigned or to fulfill a certain responsibility. In a situation of conflict, effective dialogue and negotiations can work out the problem. Often it happens that with the interference of a third party, the state of paradox resolves much effectively.

Similarly, in a commune and in town; the youth should formulate teams to coup up with the challenges and difficulties faced by that particular group of people. Be it environmental, social or a similar hindrance, an efficient group effort executed by youth, can lead to sufficient positive changes. While making teams, the team leader nominated as a result of a popular vote should be capable of delivering justice and coordination between the different members of the task force. If justice prevails, it will further lead to successful achievement of the goals. Resolution of a problem will not lead to conflict and intolerance, rather in time of a calamity the teams can provide work force through the principle of self help and solidarity. Such practices at the level of our homes and community will nurture tolerance and peace will have a great impact at the macro level.

For more details:  http://www.womag.pk/future-of-pakistan-in-hands-of-the-youth/

Pakistani youth has bright future: Sharmila

Advisor to Sindh Chief Minister on media Sharmila Farooqui has said that the present problems of Pakistan are the result of long dictatorship as Gen Ziaul Haq and Gen Pervez Musharraf promoted extremism and terrorism in the country.
Pakistani Youth are full of patriotic feelings and their future is very bright, she said while speaking as a chief guest in a Seminar ‘Provincial Youth Conference- Democracy, Governance and Youth Participation’ under Sindh Community Foundation here at local hotel on Thursday.
She said, ‘Islam is the religion of peace and it teaches to safeguard the rights of others and those who follow extremism are not true followers of religion’ She added that everyone had a right to protest, but it should be peaceful. Pakistani youth could save Pakistan and they could change the destiny of the country.
She said that it was really very sorry to say that 65 years had passed and we still talked about strengthening institutions and if democratic governments were allowed to function smoothly, the country would become most developed country in the world. Sharmila Farooqui said that for youth policy consultative dialogues should be held in order to know their problems.
Advisor to CM said that it was the need of the hour that patriotism should be promoted. Present democratic government had provided jobs on merit to one lac people. ‘Right now free judiciary and media are working in the country. Negative approaches must be discouraged, she concluded.

Source:  http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/karachi/30-Mar-2012/pakistani-youth-has-bright-future-sharmila