Pakistan is an Islamic country and we as a society, have a strong cultural milieu which is pillared on a very solid institution of family. Respect for elders, care and compassion for children are integral features of our religion as well as our culture.
It is unfortunate that despite having periods of high growth and productivity, a large number of our population is extremely poor with over 60 percent of population living at US $2 a day and one third of the population living at US $1 a day. The country's performance on human development remains one of the lowest in the region and around the world.
Hunger, deprivation, illiteracy and increasing gap between the haves and have-nots is probably a major cause behind a range of factors which breed child abuse. Again, child abuse is not restricted to physical violence; it also entails inadequate nutrition, lack of education and care.
As per the health statistics about twelve percent of infants born in Pakistan die before their first birthday, and 10 percent of our children do not reach their fifth birthday. Malnutrition is another serious issue. Child beggary, child scavengers and child drug addiction etc are all direct branches of poverty and as such these require holistic solutions.
More importantly, these issues relating to child abuse and violence against children in various forms at work, in schools and in homes, are extremely disturbing. Child abuse and violence requires cohesive strategies and a range of players, including government, academia, civil society and especially health care providers need to come together to fight against child abuse for containing the number of such cases.
The medical practitioners, of course, are vital players who, with their professional capabilities, can facilitate continuous data and situation status for formulating realistic policies, laws and workable strategies which can ultimately lead to achieving our goals of building a more compassionate society which cares for children and protects them against possibilities of abuse.
Pakistan was among the first countries that has signed and ratified the UN convention for the rights of children in 1990. More than 18 years have passed and the state of majority of children in Pakistan still presents a dismal picture.
Very few amongst us know that denial of the basic rights of children, like health, education, shelter, an act of omission, is also child abuse. If we look in this context the children of Pakistan, that comprise a little less than 50 percent of population are far from receiving their rights and thus are being abused.
The government should immediately enact Child Protection Bill which is pending with the parliament for the last two years for one reason or the other to stop child abuses and provide protection to children. The announcement of "child protection policy" is also pending with the government whose draft is ready.
This is a progressive bill and was prepared after hard work of so many years. It has almost all the necessary steps to provide protection to children's right and sufficient punishment for those found guilty of violations. Child protection bill was tabled to protect street children who are abused daily.
The bill looks after rehabilitation of abused children. Social Welfare Department will work for children welfare under the bill. Besides education, it will also play its role in the opening of closed schools. The incidents of child abuses have increased manifold in the last eight years. It is the duty of every person to play his role in the fight against child abuse.
Besides a good treatment, children should get love, affection, education, food and good training. This will pay back to the nation. Affection and love are the greatest rights of a child. No violence is justified against the children. Corporal punishment against children continued unabated at schools and madaressahs (seminaries). There is a need for a dialogue of parents and teachers with the children instead of forcing their decisions on them.
There is an urge for a networking of stakeholders to jointly struggle for the child protection. The creation of a national alliance for child rights is also recommended. Chairperson organising committee, Child Rights Group of Pakistan Pediatric Association, Professor Aisha Mehnaz, said that PPA has created 13 child protection committees in Sindh to make our hospitals as child friendly areas.
She urges the media to play its role to publicise this effort so that people should get in touch with these committees and report any incident of neglect against a child at hospitals. About ten hospital child protection committees have been formed and as much as 700 persons have been trained in the field of child protection and preventive measures to stop child abuses. The Punjab Child Protection Bureau has been created and Sindh needs to emulate this.
It will create awareness about Child Rights in the light of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This will also highlight the problems of abuse and neglect, its prevalence and the role played by the Government and non Government organisations in its prevention and management.
The government should earnestly work for the legislation for child protection and implement the national plan of action against child abuse as soon as possible. The age of a child must be defined by the government that should be in accordance with WHO's guidelines - which is 18 years.
The legal and social support should be provided by the government to hospital child protection committees so that they can fearlessly provide protection to abused childrens' that they are rehabilitated properly. In this regard PPA seeks the support of provincial social welfare departments.
The maximum support should be provided by the government to the children involved in armed conflicts and terrorism activities for their complete rehabilitation. Strict legislation regarding corporal punishment should be implemented. Teachers should be trained in this regard.
The time has come to implement child protection laws and instead of making mere promises and assurances we need to take concrete steps in this regard. We aught to create awareness among the general masses for the eradication of this menace from our society. Contribute effectively for creating a congenial atmosphere where children can live a healthy, prosperous and joyful life.
It is no doubt a very serious issue and the subject entails various complex dimensions and as such it is important to increase the dialogue and debate on this subject to raise awareness; to provide insight into the rising trends of child abuse in our society and most importantly to create a network of supporters who could make it a common cause to fight this curse.
And seek answers how to combat violence and injustice against the children of Pakistan. An adequate mechanism is needed for checking and containing child abuse on sustainable basis.
The government must evolve a system that can check all forms of child mistreatment for enabling us to help our children grow into healthy and useful citizens. The world suffers a lot not because of the violence by bad people but because of the silence of good people. Do not be silent. For your silence will not bring a good change.
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