Girl Child Awareness programme's trucks, with their eye-catching art, will soon hit the roads in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: The human rights ministry has launchedits Girl Child Awareness programme by using Pakistan's mesmerising truck art, minister Shireen Mazari said on Friday.
In a Twitter post, Mazari, the federal minister for human rights, announced that the programme was launched in collaboration with Samar MinAllah Khan — an anthropologist and documentary filmmaker — and the European Union (EU).
Mazari, whose ministry launched the awareness programme on the International Day of the Girl Child — celebrated around the world on October 11 — also met with the truck owners, saying it "was wonderful to meet the truck owners who gave their trucks & the artists who painted them".
The newly-painted trucks have captions such as 'Children's safety is your duty, give me safety,' 'I wish to study, I will become your light,' and 'Let me play, let me make my country proud'.
"Can't wait to see them on the road," thehuman rights minister added.
Mazari was also present at an event held to celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child, where she said some 12.5 million girls in Pakistan do not have access to education but her ministry was taking steps to resolve this problem and introduced a helpline and portal in this regard.
Speaking to Geo News, the human rights minister said: "We have set up a child commission … for women's safety, it's necessary to make sure mothers are safe so that the girls are safe.
"We have operationalised the Detention & Distress Fund, which was there but not being used. Now the Zainab Alert Bill will also be approved in a few days," she added.
Actor Mehwish Hayat, who, a day prior, was appointed as a goodwill ambassador for girls' rights by the ministry of human rights, was also present at the event, where she highlighted that educating a boy helped only one individual but educating a girl made the entire society better.
"This is to create awareness for girls rights. Education and protection are necessary and key issues and there needs to be work done in that regard."
About the new initiative, Minallah explained that trucks go from one corner of Pakistan to another so truck art and promoting awareness about girls' rights came together like a billboard.
"So why not try this [medium]?" she said.
On Thursday, a "delighted" Hayat had said in a video message she had been "appointed by the Ministry of Human Rights as their Goodwill Ambassador for the rights of the girl child".
About her new role, she said it was "something very close to my heart & I look forward to actively raising awareness of the issues to be addressed".