00:00In Pakistan, millions of people live without identity papers.
00:09Maryam Suleiman, a 55-year-old widow in Karachi, is one of them.
00:14She has no official ID and because of that, her son Ahmed Raza is also unregistered.
00:21I had to leave school when his documents were asked for.
00:44Ahmed had to leave school when his documents were asked for.
00:48He can't apply for a job, travel or even move freely around the city.
00:53He has been stopped by police and detained twice simply because he couldn't show an ID card.
00:59My mother didn't have anything.
01:01My father didn't have to leave school.
01:03That's why I got out of school.
01:05I go to school and get the police.
01:09They are very tired.
01:12Because of the implications of my own, my mother would have to be affected.
01:18My parents would have to be destroyed.
01:21I had to leave school and I had to leave school.
01:23My parents would have to leave school.
01:24I would have to leave school with them.
01:25I had to leave school with them.
01:26Can I have a problem with that?
01:28You know, whether it's just a problem with the family,
01:29because of the family.
01:30It would be good to make an NIC.
01:33Ahmed wants to get registered, but he can't,
01:37because the process needs his parents' documents.
01:40His father passed away.
01:42His mother, Maryam, never had any papers.
01:45I go to Nadhra, and they say,
01:48that Abbu's NIC, Ami's NIC,
01:50that's not our own.
01:52Abbu was 4th, and he had an Indian certificate.
01:56It didn't become computer-wise.
01:58It was hard.
01:59And when we say that these things are not in our own,
02:01they say that it's difficult.
02:04In Pakistan, nearly one in five people
02:07are in the same situation,
02:09living without any legal identity.
02:13Without an ID, people can't access basic services
02:17like education, healthcare, or job opportunities.
02:21And the longer they remain undocumented,
02:23the harder it becomes to register.
02:26Getting papers isn't easy.
02:28It can involve a lot of money, long travel,
02:31and repeated visits to government offices.
02:34Some people say they're asked for bribes.
02:37Others simply give up.
02:40As we say, I mean, birth registration is a passport for protection.
02:46It would really help children not to be exploited in terms of the different child protection violations.
02:53For example, child marriage, or child labour, or access to justice, or child trafficking.
02:59All of these have specific laws, but there are certain age stipulations within these laws.
03:06So if a child does not have a legal identity and you're not able to prove the age of that child,
03:12then you will not be able to enforce these laws.
03:15In remote areas like Rajanpur, UNICEF has started registration drives,
03:21going door to door and setting up temporary centres.
03:24Their goal is to register children early and protect them from risks like child marriage,
03:30child labour, or trafficking.
03:32But many parents still don't register their children unless they absolutely have to,
03:39like for school admission or religious travel.
03:42The cost, lack of transport and lack of awareness, all be able to do.
04:08The cost, lack of transport and lack of awareness, all play a role.
04:13In some villages, people still don't see registration as necessary.
04:17But without papers, millions of children grow up without legal protection,
04:22and without a future they can build on.
04:25Having an identity means being seen.
04:27It means having rights.
04:29And for millions of Pakistanis, it is still out of reach.
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