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Child abuse in Pakistan

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Pakistan ranks third in online child abuse.[1] Child sexual abuse[2] is often neglected in Pakistan.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] The estimated child abuse in Pakistan is more than 12 per day,[12][13] in which out of total reported cases of child abuse in Pakistan 2,325 victims were girls (55%) and 1,928 (45%) boys.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]

In 2022 a total 4,253 cases of child abuse were reported, half of them were sexual abuse.[13][24] In 2023, the total number of abuse victims was 2,227, more than half among them, about 54%, were girls.[13][24][25] About 164 cases of sexual abuse, 984 abductions, 201 missing children and 14 child marriage cases were reported in the same year.[26]

In a report named cruel numbers compiled by Sahil an NGO working in Pakistan on child protection and special focus on sexual abuse,[23][26] a total number of 53 pornographic cases[26] were reported in an investigation by the Federal Investigation Agency, which was tracking activities on the dark web.[13][27][23]

In Sindh, the highest (483) number of cases of child abuse were reported,[13] the second highest number of cases (233) were reported in Punjab.[13][24][25] Poverty and inflation is a big factor in people sending their children to work, or selling them to people who use them as labor, sex slaves. A major obstacle is that child abuse has become common in Pakistan.[28]

Pakistani parliament passed a new law against child abuse in 2020.[29][30]

Domestic violence

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Domestic violence against children and child marriage in Pakistan has also been reported.[31]

As of 2023, at least over 18 per cent of girls and 4 per cent of boys in Pakistan were found to be married before the age of 18 and prevention of such marriages is complicated by a "dual legal regime" and by societal trends of forced conversions of girls from religious minorities.[32][33]

Religion and Institutionalized Abuse

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Cases of forced religion conversion of minor girls have been reported on multiple occasions.[34][35][36][37]

In 2020, several cases of sexual abuse in madrassas were documented, including the case of 8-year-old Yaous in Mansehra, who was assaulted for two days straight by the cleric Qari Shamsuddin until he fell sick and was hospitalized. The cleric was later sentenced to 16.5 years imprisonment. But despite the arrest, fellow clerics and worshippers at the Madrassah-e-Taleem-ul-Quran Mosque, where the assault and abuse took place, continued to dispute the charges.[32][38]

The hold of religious superstition in the society has also received blame for widespread abuse. Important social issues like pedophilia are still not widely criticized by prominent Muslim comparative theologians who find a wide following in Pakistan like Dr. Zakir Naik, who is currently living in Malaysia. One notable incident happened in early October 2024 when Dr. Zakir, while addressing a crowd in an event in Karachi, criticized a Pashtun girl and refused to address her question on widespread pedophilia in conservative communities like the one in Lakki Marwat where she hailed from and why the Ullema refused to address the problem. He later doubled down and even sought an apology from the girl and maintained that her question was contradictory.[39][40]

Sexual abuse cases

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In August 2023, Fatima Phuriro,[41] a minor girl was allegedly brutally tortured, raped in a Haweli of Pir's of Ranipur.[42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][41] Postmortem report confirmed the torture and rape.[51] According to a statement by the lawyer of Fatima Phuriro, Pir Asad Shah Jilani was allegedly selling the video of the sexually abuse on the Dark web.[13] Additionally, 7 captives, including women and girls, trapped in Asad Shah's mansion, were recovered by the Police.[52][48]

Asad shah wife, Hina Shah, has also been nominated as co-accused in the FIR lodged by Fatima’s mother.[53]

On January 9, 2018, minor girl Zainab Ansari was raped and murdered in her hometown Kasur, Pakistan.[54][55] In 2019, Nine-year-old Faizan Muhammad was raped and murdered in Kasur, Pakistan.[56]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ ANI (2023-04-19). "Pakistan ranks 3rd in online child abuse: NGO report". ThePrint. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  2. ^ "Online Child Abuse-legal and Technological Approaches to Tackle It | Office of Accessibility & Inclusion". oai.lums.edu.pk. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  3. ^ Asadali (2022-06-24). "The Lingering Menace of Child Abuse in Pakistan!". Youth Parliament Pakistan. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  4. ^ "Child Protection | UNICEF Pakistan". www.unicef.org. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  5. ^ "Over half a million children raped in Pakistan annually but most cases go unnoticed: experts". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  6. ^ "Pakistan: What's fueling child sexual abuse in Punjab? – DW – 07/25/2023". dw.com. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  7. ^ "Over half a million children raped in Pakistan annually but most cases go unnoticed: experts". The News International. 2022-11-01. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  8. ^ "Child abuse in Pakistan". The Nation. 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  9. ^ "Child abuse in Pakistan". The Nation. 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  10. ^ Maul, Kayleigh M; Naeem, Rubaba; Rahim Khan, Uzma; Mian, Asad I; Yousafzai, Aisha K; Brown, Nick (2019-02-01). "Child abuse in Pakistan: A qualitative study of knowledge, attitudes and practice amongst health professionals". Child Abuse & Neglect. 88: 51–57. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.10.008. ISSN 0145-2134. PMID 30447502. S2CID 53733918.
  11. ^ Mushtaque, Iqra; Owaisi, Ahmed Mujtaba; Malik, Asma Seemi; Hussain, Mussarat; Rizwan, Muhammad (January 2023). "Cases of Child Sexual Abuse in Pakistan: A Wake-Up Call for Public Health Concern". Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health. 35 (1): 80–81. doi:10.1177/10105395221147353. ISSN 1010-5395. PMID 36591951. S2CID 255473837.
  12. ^ "'12 children sexually abused per day in first half of 2022'". The Express Tribune. 2022-09-15. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g Sadozai, Irfan (2023-08-24). "12 children suffered sexual abuse every day in Pakistan in first half of 2023: Sahil report". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  14. ^ "Child sexual abuse up by 33% in 2022: report". The Express Tribune. 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  15. ^ "Report reveals harrowing state of child abuse instances in Punjab". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  16. ^ Hyder, A. A.; Malik, F. A. (2007). "Violence against Children: A Challenge for Public Health in Pakistan - PMC". Journal of Health, Population, and Nutrition. 25 (2): 168–178. PMC 2753994. PMID 17985818.
  17. ^ Maul, Kayleigh M.; Naeem, Rubaba; Rahim Khan, Uzma; Mian, Asad I.; Yousafzai, Aisha K.; Brown, Nick (February 2019). "Child abuse in Pakistan: A qualitative study of knowledge, attitudes and practice amongst health professionals". Child Abuse & Neglect. 88: 51–57. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.10.008. ISSN 1873-7757. PMID 30447502. S2CID 53733918.
  18. ^ "Understanding the Issue of Child Sexual Abuse in Pakistan – SLD". Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  19. ^ Husain, Hina (2023-02-23). "Pakistani child sex abuse is an open secret". UnHerd. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  20. ^ "Report reveals horrifying statistics of child abuse in Pakistan". 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  21. ^ "Child Abuse in Pakistan - Research impact". University of Bradford. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  22. ^ "Child sexual abuse up by 33% in 2022: report". The Express Tribune. 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  23. ^ a b c "Cruel Numbers – Sahil". Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  24. ^ a b c "Google Scholar". scholar.google.com.pk. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  25. ^ a b Hussain, Abid. "A child was sexually abused every two hours in Pakistan this year, NGO says". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  26. ^ a b c Junejo, Iqra (2023-08-31). "Unveiling child abuse". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2023-08-31.
  27. ^ "Aid group reports surging numbers in child abuse in Pakistan". AP News. 2022-04-29. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  28. ^ Child Labour in domestic work in Pakistan: A scoping study (Report). 2022-07-14.
  29. ^ "Pakistan passes child abuse law after girl's rape and murder". Reuters. 2020-03-11. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  30. ^ "Monitoring child rights violations & handling complaints". ncrc.gov.pk.
  31. ^ "500,000 children face physical assaults every year in Pakistan: Expert". Business Standard. Asian News International. 6 November 2022.
  32. ^ a b Zia, Afiya S. (2024-04-24). "No country for children: The not-so-hidden horrors of child sexual abuse in Pakistan". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  33. ^ "Cruel Numbers – Sahil". Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  34. ^ "Pakistan: Religious conversion, including treatment of converts and forced conversions (2009-2012)". Refworld. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  35. ^ "Pakistan's dilemma of forced conversions and marriages put minority women at risk". Religion and Global Society. 2022-01-20. Retrieved 2023-08-31.
  36. ^ "UN to Pakistan: Curb Forced Conversions, Marriages of Religious Minority Girls". VOA. 2023-01-16. Retrieved 2023-08-31.
  37. ^ "Pakistan: Sindh Provincial Assembly Passes New Law Prohibiting Forced Religious Conversion". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2023-08-31.
  38. ^ "Child sex abuse in Pakistan's religious schools is endemic". AP News. 2020-05-11. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  39. ^ Chakraborty, Debdutta (2024-10-07). "Pashtun girl asks Zakir Naik about rising paedophilia in Islamic societies. He says apologise". ThePrint. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  40. ^ Media (2024-10-07). "Dr.Zakir Naik reacts sharply to Pashtun girl Palwasha's question : viral video". Media Bites. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  41. ^ a b Mehmood, Arifa (2023-08-17). "Who is Fatima Fariro and What Happened to Her?". Rockedge. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  42. ^ "Another maid died due to alleged torture in Khairpur". Daily Times. 2023-08-17. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  43. ^ Khan, Mohammad Hussain (2023-08-19). "Khairpur maid case: Exhumation, postmortem of 9-year-old girl's body completed, says official". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  44. ^ "Brutal murder of 10-year-old maid sparks outrages after video goes viral in Pakistan". gulftoday.ae. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  45. ^ "Celebs demand justice for Fatima". The Express Tribune. 2023-08-22. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  46. ^ "Minor housemaid's postmortem report reveals torture, rape". The Express Tribune. 2023-08-21. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  47. ^ "Digital Vigilance: Unmasking GBV Realities". The Nation. 2023-08-22. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  48. ^ a b Iqbal, Mussab (2023-08-17). "Why parents of Fatima left daughter at disposal of Pir Asad Shah?". Samaa. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  49. ^ "Police get physical remand of main suspect in housemaid murder case". The Nation. 2023-08-18. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  50. ^ "Child maid dies of 'torture'". The Express Tribune. 2023-08-17. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  51. ^ Afsheen, Romana (2023-08-19). "Exhumation of Minor Fatima's Grave Completed; Postmortem Conducted". The Truth International. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  52. ^ "Captive Victims Recovered from Pir Asad Shah's Mansion". The Friday Times. 2023-08-23. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  53. ^ Correspondent, The Newspaper's Staff (2023-08-22). "Remand of prime suspect in housemaid murder case extended by five days". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2023-08-24. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  54. ^ Shackle, Samira. "When will there be justice for Pakistan's victims of child abuse?". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  55. ^ Jalil, Xari (2018-01-21). "IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH KASUR?". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  56. ^ Abid, Zehra. "In Pakistan's Kasur, child rapes and killings continue unabated". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
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