Minister for Human Rights, Shireen Mazari, has said that unfortunately, Pakistan is ranked at the top in child pornography. She has called for the initiation of a dialogue on child abuse.
She made these comments while speaking at the launch ceremony of the Child Protection Campaign in Islamabad. Mazari stressed, “The menace of child pornography is in every stratum of our society.”
The minister underlined that occurrences of child abuse are rising and Pakistan comes first in terms of child pornography. It is shameful that ‘we call ourselves Muslims’, she resented.
Mazari said that there should be a campaign in government schools and the society needs to get out of their comfort zones to hold a dialogue on child abuse. “In order to put an end to incidents of sexual abuse of children, we need to launch collective efforts,” she said.
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The minister told that despite the increasing incidents of child abuse, there is no conversation with children about the matter.
“We don’t even talk to children about child abuse, at any level or schools or households. Development is meaningless if children are not safe from abuse,” she stressed.
She further added, “We will analyze all complaints of child abuse that come our way” at the human rights ministry. The minister resented that the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Act, 2019, is stuck in the National Assembly’s Standing Committee for Human Rights.
“Hope the bill returns to the Assembly soon. If there’s law, punishments can be awarded”, she said.
