RAWALPINDI, 23 July: "SAARC Decade of the Girl Child (1991-2000)" was the decade of challenge and change in South Asia and the efforts of the Governments of the South Asian countries are now more focused towards girls' rights. This was said by Dr. Attiya Inayatullah, federal Minister for Women Development, Social Welfare and Special Education, while addressing the inaugural session of the South Asia Girl Child Symposium here today.

The Minister said that South Asia has 132 million children under three years of age and less than half of them are girls because of sex selection and neglect and those who survive are severely compromised by poor nutrition, illiteracy and harmful social practices.

"In the last decade," said Dr. Attiya, "we brought to the forefront the current status and reality of a girl's life and, on the other hand, we have compiled the historical and anthropological analysis on why and how girls have come to occupy the position they do in South Asia."

"The outcome of these efforts is a better understanding of the rights and problems of the girl child and fifteen success stories in this regard are presented before you in this symposium of South Asian countries, organized under a joint effort of the Government of Pakistan and UNICEF," she said.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Nigel Fisher, UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia, said that "this symposium is one of a number of events and activities taking place around the world," in preparation for the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children (UNGASS) that will take place in September this year.

A unique feature of this meeting is the presence of children from all the countries in South Asia. These girls and boys are in this meeting to share their first-hand experiences in terms of discrimination against girls. Even more importantly these

children are showing the adults the path to overcoming the obstacles in the way to fulfilling the equal rights of girls.

"The September meeting of world leaders," said Fisher "will examine the progress or lack of it, made in children's rights and wellbeing since the 1990 World Summit for Children, at which the leaders of the world committed themselves to a series of goals to be achieved for children by the year 2000." This symposium in Pakistan should take a message of hope for the girls of South Asia to the UNGASS.

Talking about the UNICEF's mandate, Nigel said that the mandate "centres on the rights and wellbeing of children on equal basis, but girls in South Asia tend to be the most unequal." UNICEF, therefore, places particular emphasis on the rights of girls to health, education, protection, participation and love, he said.

Earlier, Ms. Carroll Long, UNICEF Representative to Pakistan, welcomed all the participants and thanked the Government of Pakistan for collaborating with UNICEF in arranging this important event that will go a long way for protecting the rights of girls in South Asia.

The 3-day symposium will review the progress made in South Asia 11 years after the World Summit for Children, and ten years after the SAARC declaration of the Girl Child Decade.

After the inaugural session, in the second session, children and young people spike about projects from the seven participating countries of South Asia and different project managers and participating children shared their success stories. This is the first meeting of its kind in Pakistan where children and young people from all over South Asia are participating on an equal footing as adults.