- Society’s responsibility
There is an uproar in Pakistani society these days against child sexual abuse after the brutal rape and killing of a seven-year-old girl in Kasur, a city located south of Lahore. Zainab Ameen left home to take a Quranic lesson and never returned. Her rapist, who is still on the run, threw her body out with the trash after raping and killing her. It was heart-wrenching to see the images of her tiny body lying on a heap of garbage.
Following the incident, her images were shared on various social media channels that triggered overwhelming outrage worldwide. Many Pakistani artists, activists and politicians came out with emotional speeches. There were protests all over the country demanding justice for Zainab but it all seemed to be superficial and devoid of any sense of commitment that such horrific incidents won’t happen again. There is a history of child abuse at various levels in our society. We see street children vulnerable to all forms of abuse every day but we don’t do anything to support them. We employ children in commercial and domestic settings and take no responsibility for their well-being and protection. As a matter of fact, our society has failed our children at so many levels.
The year was 2010, I was doing my dissertation on domestic child labour in Pakistan when I came across a case of a 12-year old Christian girl, Shazia Masih, who was allegedly tortured and killed in Lahore. Her father accused her employers of physically abusing her. The preliminary medical report also revealed 17 injuries to her forehead, cheek and scalp caused by a blunt weapon. She was taken to the hospital in a critical condition but couldn’t sustain the injuries and later died. She was employed by the former president of Lahore bar association so initially the police refused to register an FIR against the perpetrators because of their influence. It was only after the intervention of the chief minister of the Punjab that an FIR was registered. The murder trial continued for about nine months and eventually the court acquitted her employers – as it happens normally when the victims are poor and defenceless. Surprisingly, it was not even considered by the court that employing a 12-year-old was illegal in the first place.
According to UNICEF, 35 percent of Pakistan’s population consists of children under the age of 14 and an estimated 3.6 million work predominantly in hazardous and exploitative conditions
More recently, a friend of mine, an Islamabad based doctor, shared an extremely disturbing incident when a boy aged six or seven, who was working as a tea boy at a nearby hotel, came to her clinic and complained about pain and soreness in his backside. She found clear signs of sexual abuse when she examined him. Upon asking further questions, he got terribly scared and immediately ran away from the clinic.
Pakistan is a home to 1.5 million street children, 90pc of whom have been abused. According to the Islamabad-based NGO Sahil, the total number of cases in 2016 was 4,139 included abduction, missing children and child marriage which means an average of 11 cases of child abuse daily across Pakistan.
Over 700 cases of child sexual abuse were reported in Kasur alone over the last three years. Organised paedophile gangs had been allegedly operating in the area for years who harassed and blackmailed people for money after making pornographic videos of their children. The locals also had been accusing police and politicians of protecting the perpetrators. This state failed to take action against the perpetrators or put any safeguarding mechanism in place to protect the children at risk in Kasur.
According to UNICEF, 35 percent of Pakistan’s population consists of children under the age of 14 and an estimated 3.6 million work predominantly in hazardous and exploitative conditions. These millions of economically active kids work day and night in industrial and domestic settings to earn little money to support themselves or their families. Most of the time their relatives receive payments for their hard work and hence pushing them into a never-ending cycle of servitude.
The social acceptance of child labour commercially and domestically has increased the risks of child sexual exploitation. The domestic environment provides also facilitates the perpetrators to get away with their crimes because of insufficient evidence and absence of witnesses. The stories of horrific crimes against children do appear in media but nothing much is done as perpetrators are usually influential people of the society.
Sex education at school level has always attracted strong criticism by the society and was declared in contradiction to our cultural and religious values. This conservative attitude needs to change so that children can differentiate between a good touch and a bad touch. They should know what to do and where to go in case they experience or witness an incident of sexual abuse. The culture of shame and silence around topics including sex and sexual harassment has facilitated the culprits to get away with their crimes. It’s about time that we break the taboo surrounding sex education in Pakistan.
As we demand justice for Zainab, we must not forget that our denial of children’s rights in general has contributed to their increased vulnerability to abuse. If we are serious about protecting our children, we must have a zero-tolerance approach towards child labour. The society at large has got to work with the authorities to put the practical safeguarding mechanisms and child protection policies in place. The schools must make arrangements for raising awareness on sexual harassment for children and how to identify early signs of abuse.
If we really want justice for Zainab, we need to put our collective efforts to ensure that no one ever dares to treat our children like trash again.
