Shaukat Hayat Buneri
To begin with- the incidents of children abuses have witnessed an upward trend in the different parts and towns of our country. Es-pecially during the recent past these incidents have increased with an alarming pace and proportion in Sindh and Punjab. Even the provinces of Khyber Pakhtukhwa and Baluc-histan have no exemption.
The recent incident of the brutal murder of Zenab bibi an innocent 8 years child girl in the Qasur district of Punjab sparked widespread protests across the country and shake the conscience of every faithful citizen of Pakistan. The national, international me-dia including human righ-ts organizations – also hig-hlighted the gruesome mu-rder of the flower like chi-ld to a great extent wh-ile, the political and social circles of the country equ-ally condemned this act of barbarism in pressing words .
Now the questions arises that why are these gruesome incidents of child abuses, rapes, sexual harassment, kidnappings for ransom and heinous crimes of murders of innocent children occurring so frequently in a society which stress upon the need to protect and preserve -the rights, honors and dignity of children and women the most. Islam teaches us to treat children and women with love and affection. However we have turned a deaf ears and a blind eyes to protect and safeguard their rights and honor in society .
Unfortunately, injustice and discrimination found in our education sector is stated to be one of the main causes for the occurrences of such incidents in society. For example from early childhood, unbearable burden is put on the shoulders and back of the innocent child in our society. Such as going to school, maktab, tuition center are the combined tasks to be accomplished by a child at all cost.
The parents also forcibly sent their children to study in maktab and tuition centers after school timings . Which in turn negatively affect the bodies and souls of our children. From dawn to dusk, the children reluctantly get absorbed in different sorts of learning activities and finds no opportunity for leisure and entertainment in the whole period of their childhood-Which is certainly an open and total exploitation of our children in society. Due to this very reasons our children are passing through severe mantle stress and agony all the times .
It is also the prime duty of the state, to provide all sorts of facilities to their students in schools. The school management should practically be capable enough to equip the students with both Islamic and modern tools of knowledge and learning process. There should also be proper and a practical system of check and balance in schools. The school management should be thoroughly equipped to provide security to the children. As against the parents must also be held equally responsible to focus more on their children and let not put them on the mercy of their teachers and schools management alone because children are our real assets and future leaders. They must be given some opportunities of pleasure to groom and develop as healthy citizens.
At the end of the discussion it will also be not out of place to say here that the government, the civil society, the political workers, and all the educated and informed circles including media and other stake holders must come forward together and device a collective strategy to curb this menace once and for all. Effective campaigns should be launched to create awareness among the public regarding the curse of child abuses and discrimination prevailing in the society. It is indeed a big issue which should be inculcate in the minds of every civilized citizen of the state. The media role in this regard is very crucial and significant because it is the media which can mould and determine the public opinion in an easy and cheaper way especially the social media may be effectively utilized to educate the masses about the menace being faced by them in society.
Furthermore, the teachers at school and college level should arrange seminars workshops and debates with frequent intervals so as to make their students cognizant about the growing trends of child abuses .
Last but not the least, this fact should also be kept in mind that now a days the importance and utility of studying social sciences have increased many folds especially after the emerging of child abuses incidents with alarming proportion in our society. Thus the responsibility of the students of social science including those relating to the field of journalism and sociology have also increased manifold to create awareness among the people about the evils and unethical norms and customs in our society.
The recent incident of Zenab in Qasur, has also sent a message of alert to the people living in every nook and corner of the country. This has indeed caused a panic and waves of fear and terror in society but on the other hand the people will also be able to reconsider their thoughts and plans to keep more attention and vigilance on their children. In this sense the sacrifice rendered by the Zenab will not go spoiled. Her sacrificed has turned the conscience of the people toward the growing incidents of heinous crimes prevailing in our society. In short the time has come to join hands together and foil the evils designs of the miscreants and anti social elements in our society. In this regard the introduction and implementation of pure Islamic system of life on modern footing is the last resort to weed out evils from society.
