Let’s raise our voices against child abuse

Zainab, once again, reminds us how vulnerable our children are. Zainab Ansari, just like any normal eight-year-old in the area she lived in eastern Punjab, Pakistan, had gone to attend Quran classes from her relative’s home while her parents were away. Her body — raped and strangled — was recovered five days later from a trash heap. The area we are talking about is Kasur, where serial killers/rapists are reportedly prowling the streets. That is what the 12 similar murders in the two-km radius in the past year bear testimony to. There is more. A total of 129 cases of child assault were reported last year, of which 34 were abductions, 23 rapes and four abduction and gang rapes. Previous years were no different. To think there could be double the number of unreported cases is both scary and traumatic. It neither speaks well of the justice system of Pakistan nor of the police investigation, which could end up in a weak prosecution. There is a serious laxity of law, and now the country has risen up as one. Leaders, citizens and activists are outraged over the rise in abuse cases in Kasur and other parts of the country. The #JusticeForZainab calls for action by the authorities to arrest the culprit and bring him before law. A couple of CCTV footages show Zainab holding a man’s hand as she walked along a street. To think that she would have trusted that man to hold his hand as she walked makes the crime sickening and heart-rending at the same time.

It’s time for parents, teachers and society to put in greater efforts to protect children. Parents should tell their little ones about the good touch and the bad touch and make them take ownership of their bodies. Teachers and schools should initiate a change in the academic curriculum whereby such issues are discussed openly. Youth and children-focused media channels should help reinforce these messages. And the state should step in by putting strict child protection-specific legislations in place.