Swat: Swat has placed communities at the forefront of child protection by formally involving women, adolescents, faith leaders and other local stakeholders in identifying children at risk, reporting concerns and connecting vulnerable families with relevant services, the local correspondent of reporter reported this from Swat on Sunday.
According to the details, the initiative has led to the establishment of 21 Child Protection Committees comprising 315 members, including three adolescents in each committee, while representation of a faith leader is mandatory. Established under Section 10-F of the Child Protection and Welfare Act 2010, the committees aim to extend the outreach of the Child Protection Unit (CPU), facilitate reporting and make protection services more accessible to families. The impact of the system was evident in Amankot, where a woman approached a female committee member after a boy stopped attending school because his family could not afford his fees. The committee contacted the CPU, which intervened with the school administration, resulting in payment of half of the outstanding fee and the child’s return to school.
The need for such community-based mechanisms is underscored by the scale of child protection cases reported in the valley. According to CPU data, 503 cases were registered in Swat between 2022 and 2026, including exploitation and child begging, sexual abuse, neglect, missing or runaway children, physical violence, corporal punishment, abandonment and juvenile cases. Exploitation and child begging constituted 289 cases involving 200 boys and 89 girls, while 62 sexual abuse cases involved 51 boys and 11 girls and 48 cases related to neglect. In 2026 alone, the CPU recorded 71 cases involving 58 boys and 13 girls, including 21 sexual abuse cases, four corporal punishment cases, one physical violence case, four custody or neglect cases and 41 exploitation or child begging cases. Officials cautioned that the figures represent cases reaching the protection system and do not reflect the overall prevalence of violations, with under-reporting remaining a particular concern for girls due to stigma, family pressure and
limited awareness or access to services.
Child Protection Officer Ihsan Khan said the committees were designed to bring protection mechanisms closer to communities, adding that around 25 to 30 percent of cases reported to the CPU in 2026 were referred through the community committees. Members have been trained to identify children at risk, report and refer cases, coordinate with the CPU and guide families towards available services, while awareness activities focus on exploitation, violence, neglect and abuse. The inclusion of adolescents has also provided young people with a direct voice in the protection process, with female members reporting that girls often feel more comfortable sharing problems with peers. Women committee members have similarly encouraged families to report child labour, begging, early marriages and abuse. Meanwhile, more than 30 faith leaders have been engaged through awareness activities, with religious scholars using sermons and community gatherings to discourage early marriages and promote children’s rights. One imam, Maula
na Shakir, recalled intervening in cases involving harassment of schoolgirls and a proposed marriage of an under-18 orphan, persuading the family to delay the marriage and consider the girl’s consent.
Women and child rights activist and Khwendo Jirga founder Tabassum Adnan stressed that lasting change requires the involvement of men, boys, religious leaders, families, elders and other influential community members alongside women. The CPU has provided two-day training to committee members and trained 60 government and non-government officials on child protection systems and relevant laws.
During 2025-26, awareness activities reached 200 children and stakeholders, while psychosocial support and hygiene kits were provided to 600 flood-affected children. Officials and rights advocates, however, say the ultimate measure of the initiative will not be the number of committees or training sessions but tangible outcomes-more girls remaining in school, prevention of early marriages, safer reporting mechanisms and communities intervening before abuse and exploitation escalate into formal cases.
