by SALMAN ASHRAF
In the guise of beggary, some young and adolescent female beggars make themselves available as prostitutes in twin cities, along Murree Road and areas adjacent of Barakahu.
More than 50 ‘katchi bastis’ are situated in the twin city where more than 15,000 professional beggar families are currently living. The oldest beggar ‘basti’ is situated along railway lines near Mareer Chowk where more than 250 families are settled for past many years. The majority of women living in this slum are involved in the business of prostitution.
“These women used to do business secretly, but now they could be seen fixing rates with their customers openly,” told Muhammad Sultan, a vendor at Mareer Chowk.
He further added, “Young girls, with the backing of their mothers and other family members, bring clients to their huts or go with them.”
Beggars have set up their ‘bastis’ in different localities of the city, including Murree Road, Misrial Road, Tench Bhatta, Dhoke Syedan, Railway Road and adjacent of Barakahu.
“I am not avid to work as a prostitute but poverty forces me to sell my body in return of some money,” said a beggar, Naila*, 24. She further confided that she was living in a slum near Barakahu and her family was backing her; so she makes deals with her clients for Rs 200 to 500 and then they lift her on their cars or bikes.”
According to her, presently, there is not enough money in beggary but prostitution is more financially viable. ‘I earn Rs1500 to 2500 per day,’ she said.
Arif, duty officer on Murree Road, said we know that these beggar girls work as prostitutes, but we just have power to stop beggary, so we arrest them under the Beggary Act 9/10 and send to EDHI Home.
When contacted to Zia-ul-Qamar, PRO police, he said that police was trying their best to curb the beggary; arrested male beggars were sent to jail, children to welfare centres and female to EDHI Home for rehabilitation.
Ikhlaq Ahmed, a lecturer, resident of Rawal Town said that hundreds of so called NGOs beat drums about the rights of women and children but they don’t take any step toward the rights of these female beggars.
When contacted Aurat Foundation (NGO), they told Pakistan Today, “we have started many programmes to empower women.”
Moreover, Islamabad administration’s then Deputy Commissioner Amer Ali Ahmed announced a rehabilitation centre for beggars, including men, women and children, back in 2008 with the cooperation of NGOs and international donor organisations, but as yet the rehabilitation centre is nowhere in sight.
When contacted to Deputy Commissioner (DC) office, they didn’t have anything to say on Beggars Rehabilitation Centre.
“It’s not in our knowledge that the past DC had decided to start rehabilitation centre for the beggars but presently we don’t have any plan yet to start rehabilitation centre,” they added.
