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Crumbling Pakistan economy puts children’s futures on hold

In Economy, Pakistan News
February 24, 2023

Nadia Amin, a sixteen-year-old from Lahore, Pakistan, is one of millions of families feeling the effects of the country’s economic crisis. Despite having seven years of schooling left, Nadia was forced to drop out last year to help her family financially. Nadia and her mother Miraj walk to work each day to save on transport costs, and her father, Muhammad Amin, earns 18,000 rupees a month (around $65) working as a security guard. The government’s recent tax and utility price increases have hit low-income families hard, and Nadia’s family is struggling to make ends meet. Nadia’s father had wanted all six of his daughters to be educated, but with skyrocketing inflation, he had to force Nadia to drop out after completing fifth grade. Pakistan’s economic crisis has left a fifth of its population living below the poverty line, and with inflation running at nearly 30 percent, the problem is deepening. The wealth gap is enormous, and revenue collection is just nine percent of gross domestic product. Even if the country secures an IMF deal, it could be months before the economy stabilises, leaving families like Nadia’s in despair.



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