History

SPARC was registered in December 1992 by a lawyer, Mr. Anees Jillani, under the Societies Registration Act 1860. Over the years, it has gone national with offices in several cities in Punjab and Sindh, besides having an office in Peshawar and its head office in Islamabad.

With a history of impactful initiatives such as the State of Pakistan’s Children report and organizing a Global March against Child Labor, it has led efforts to draft, introduce, and pass laws about Child Rights in every Province and region of Pakistan.

Its consultative status with the United Nations Economic & Social Council (ECOSOC) underscores its credibility and commitment to align with global human rights principles.

Notable Achievements

SPARC is at the forefront of campaigns addressing urgent Child Rights issues, touching the lives of countless children, families, and communities across Pakistan. Notable initiatives in this regard include:

Child Labor

. It organized the Global March against Child Labor in Pakistan, which took place all over the country, with hundreds of thousands of participants. The March led to Pakistan signing the Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention, and the introduction of many laws relating to Child Labor. It continues to be a key advocate in the fight against Child Labor, working alongside national and international stakeholders. It strongly adheres to the view that Pakistan cannot progress unless Child Labor under the age of 16 years is banned in the country; and every under-16 Child goes to school, with access to a free, quality, and uniform form of education.

Bonded Labor

. Bonded labor is a form of slavery, and a form of forced labor, resulting in immense misery and poverty for the victims. The workers are tricked into taking a loan, or end up doing it due to their dire financial circumstances. As a result, they are forced to work long hours for little pay in order to repay the debt. Sometimes, the debt is never repaid and simply passes from one generation to the next, resulting in all members of the families, including children, working to repay the debt. Intimidation and violence are used to prevent people from escaping from it. Millions are working as bonded laborers in Pakistan, despite several laws outlawing the practice. SPARC has been actively working with bonded laborers, including their children and women folks, and currently has two major projects covering six districts in Sindh and the Punjab.

Juvenile Justice

SPARC was the first organization in the country to talk about the issue of children coming into conflict with the law. With thousands of children in jail at the time, it succeeded in bringing down the number to less than 1400 now. It played a key role in getting the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance introduced in the year 2000. Thousands of children were provided legal aid, resulting in their release from prison. Major assistance was provided to improve the state of Child Prison Cells in dozens of jails throughout the country. Sports and health facilities were provided to child prisoners. More than 5,000 police officials, members of the judiciary and lawyers were trained about the issue.

Education

SPARC supports and promotes the complete enforcement of Article 25-A of the Constitution of Pakistan which requires the State to provide free and compulsory education to all children between the ages of five and 16. It tries to push towards this objective in almost all its projects, through partnership, and advocacy; and by helping to integrate children from marginalized communities into mainstream educational systems. It has worked on several projects to improve the state of government schools and has trained thousands of teachers all over the country to achieve a better system of education. By fostering education, advocating for systemic reform, and building resilient communities, SPARC continues to try to achieve meaningful and lasting change across Pakistan. It has been running several centers for marginalized children, providing them with informal education, and trying to get the maximum number enrolled in mainstream schools, giving the children a chance at a brighter future.

Corporal Punishment

Corporal punishment remains a prevalent method of disciplining children in Pakistan, despite its severe consequences on the well-being and development of young individuals. The distressing prevalence of corporal punishment in schools demonstrates an urgent need for change. SPARC played a key role in calling for laws to handle this issue, but the implementation of these laws remains inadequate, underscoring the necessity for a comprehensive approach to eradicate corporal punishment.

Girl Child

SPARC is a firm believer in promoting and protecting the rights of girl children. In this regard, it consistently has been advocating to increase the minimum age of marriage for girls. It tries to support females in all its activities and projects. It has been operating vocational and technical training centers in several cities, which so far have roughly covered the lives of more than 6,000 girls and women, enabling them to build sustainable livelihoods. Additionally, 200 women and girls have been trained in e-commerce to access new opportunities.

Health

SPARC continues to focus on improving maternal and child health in all its projects, trying to combat malnutrition. It is leading a fight against the tobacco industry by discouraging people from smoking, and avoiding all tobacco-related products. It aims to achieve this goal partly by the imposition of higher taxes and duties on all tobacco products. Its mission is to discourage all children in the country from avoiding cigarettes and all other tobacco-related products and lack access to them.

Breastfeeding

SPARC’s founder President drafted the Protection of Breastfeeding and Child Nutrition Ordinance 2002 which remains in force and was used as a yardstick by the Provinces to draft their own laws relating to the subject.

Nutrition

The founder President also drafted Pakistan’s first law on Iodine Deficiency, which led to the introduction of laws on this subject in several provinces, and Gilgit Baltistan.