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A Life Worth Living: Teenagers, The Family, and Health

Karachi, Pakistan - 29 March 1997

Students at the Karachi one-day seminar

The Meeting was attended by 250 people. Girls students from Habib Public Girls School, Mama Parsi Girls school, Happy Home Girls school, Grammar School, Minwalla Girls school.

Boy students from Habib Public Boys school, Virbaiji school for boys, Ghulamane-Abbas Public boys school, Boy scouts and Grammar school. Some teachers accompanied the students to the Seminar. The schools had accepted APWA's invitation to attend this Seminar for participation and they had confirmed that they would attend. Nearly 200 students attended.

Anita Ghulam Ali was the Key note Speaker. She gave a very thought provoking address on Teenagers-Family and Education. Anita spoke on the present condition of schools, the curriculum, the student behaviour etc. She made suggestions for improvement of the standard of Education.

Ms. Ali asked the youngsters to discuss with their parents and the teachers if ever they had any problem. She also asked them to help enhancing the literacy rate in Pakistan by teaching illiterates around them. However she said that it should be seen that such youngsters should be provided all educational and health facilities. Answering another question Anita Ghulam Ali said that any child having a happy family atmosphere and honest money is the luckiest person. If you are from the middle class you should be proud of your mother and father for their hard earned money and not get into any inferiority complex comparing yourself with the lavish spendings of the richer class. She said if you are brought up on illgotten money you are not going to be a happy family. Professor Anita was of the view that in our circumstances of over population and poverty if children work toward the family income it would not be wrong.

Or. Naseem Salahuddin was the Second Speaker. She spoke to the audience on the parents relationship with their children regarding health. She mentioned the reservation in discussion of the mothers and fathers regarding the girls and boys health. The mental and physical changes, students and teachers relationship, the medical help in Pakistan and the teenagers emotional problems etc.

She underlined the need for good nutrition for the teenagers and that it should be on equal basis for boys and girls. She also emphasised the need for physical exercise and suggested that adequate number of Parks and Playground should be made available.

Dr. Naseem also called for close friendly relationship between parents and the increasing role of father in the family. Happy families were of great advantage to the society as a whole. Dr. Naseem stressed great importance of girls and womens health and education due to their pivotal role in the family.

The third Speaker was Mr. Javed Jabbar on "The role of the Teenagers in Shaping tomorrows World." He spoke about the responsibilities of teenagers stressing the role to be played by girls as future mothers and boys as future fathers regarding their, health, education and social conditions, tradition and family relationship.

He spoke about the rights of the teenagers. The advantages they have in the present times. He compared the present times to the olden times - the circumstances under which the teenagers are privileged to lead a life of their own. He talked in length about the role to be played by the teenagers boys and girls for their families and their countries.

Mr. Javed Jabbar asked the youth to play their role in reducing the gap between the seniors and the youngsters. The disparity between the rich and poor students also had to be reduced by helping the young to raise the standard of life of the families by their hard and honest labour. He told the students that their character is their destiny, Their future is in their own hand because character helps the formation of their future. He expressed his profound opinion that in the case Of broken homes, the children must never abandon their family but try to help unite them.

Reported by Begum Tajwar Shaukat

Last Modified: June 05, 2010