Rape, murder of 7- year- old stirs outrage in Pakistan
Crime prompts protests and proposed legislation
KASUR, Pakistan – Child sexual abuse is rampant in this conservative Muslim nation, but rarely has it been addressed openly. Now, the rape and murder of a 7- year- old girl is fueling demands for actions to punish predators.
The crime against first- grader Zainab Ansari has triggered nationwide protests and proposed legislation to hold public executions for those convicted of raping children younger than 14.
This city was dubbed the “child abuse capital” of Pakistan after a 2015 scandal over hundreds of video clips showing 285 children, mostly boys, being sexually abused. Authorities released the men implicated in the videos.
“Zainab’s death has opened the debate on child abuse to Pakistan’s public, in media and social media, in a huge way,” said Nadia Jamil, an actress and philanthropist who is among high- profile Pakistanis speaking out since the girl’s body was found in a garbage dump Jan. 5. “It really has shaken the nation’s dormant empathy and conscience,” Jamil said.
Zainab’s body was found a day after she went missing. An autopsy report confirmed she was raped, sodomized and strangled. On Jan. 23, police said they arrested Mohammed Imran, 24, who confessed to killing Zainab and at least seven other girls.
Some 80,000 people have signed a petition on Change. org to hang child abusers.
Sahil, an activist group, tallied more than 720 incidents in Kasur in the past three years.
Samar Minallah Khan, a filmmaker, said victims often don’t come forward because they are often blamed for attracting predators.