FROM ASIFA TO AIMAN TO HOW MANY MORE?
It is alarming to see the rising number of children being targeted by sexual predators
By: Sameer Fida Hussain
The gruesome rape of a three year old girl in Malikpora Trehgam area of North Kashmir’s Bandipora district has sent shock waves across the valley. The gory incident triggered unabated protests across the valley. Gauging by the intensity of protests that rocked Kashmir on Sunday, one can simply say that the case has brought the state administration under the scanner. Demanding exemplary punishment for the accused, scores of people from across the length and breadth of the valley protested to register their resentment against the crime while Police has to deal with an overly sensitive issue as it is about a rape of a very minor girl and there are chances that some vested interests might bring in a secretarial angle to it.
Rape is a heinous crime which besides decimating the identity of the victim inflicts all sorts of mental excesses on the victims’ family. In this case a three year old who is yet to come to terms with the subtleties of life has been used by a demonic being to satiate his carnal desires. On a day when the world was celebrating “Mothers’ Day”, the mother of the ill-fated daughter was emotionally and mentally desecrated and the tragedy ripped her apart.
The certificate furnished by a particular school has added another dimension to the case. Whereas, the accused looks to be mature and above the legally declared age of 18 years to qualify as an adult, the school certificate furnished on a letter pad surprisingly shows his date of birth as 23-07-2009. The authenticity of the Date of Birth document needs to be probed first. In the first place, it needs to be established that whether a private school principal is authorized to issue such sensitive information and if so on the basis of which document has the concerned principal furnished the Date of Birth. As per the official procedure, the parents/guardian of a child need to submit a valid birth proof before the School authorities at the time of admission of the child in the school.
It is alarming to see the rising number of children being targeted by sexual predators. India’s crime records show that reported rapes of minor children had more than doubled between 2012 and 2016. More than 40% of the country’s female victims were minor children. The rise could, however, have something to do with increased and better reporting by the police and media coupled with widening of the definition of rape in the aftermath of the horrific gang-rape and murder of a 23-year old student in Delhi.
Kashmir which has been the abode of saints and called “Pir Waer” (Saint alcove) for its unique culture based on humanism and brotherhood is fast turning out to be the hotbed for many social evils. We are witnessing an extreme degradation of our social fabric.In January 2018, a poisonous cocktail of biology and bigotry led to the gruesome rape and murder of eight year old nomadic girl in Rassana Kathua. A few months later, in October, a man was arrested in North Kashmir’s Baramulla District for allegedly raping his own daughter. In April this year, police arrested a person on the charges of allegedly raping his daughter in North Kashmir’s Bandipora district. Unable to cope up with the mental agony, the girl committed suicide. Now the rape of a three year old girl in the holy month of Ramadhan sends chills down the spine. The remorseless rapist committed the heinous crime and thought that he will get away with it. The pedophile must be tried and served with capital punishment so that it acts as a deterrent for all such filthy minded people.
Our society has fallen into dire straits. Modernization, obscenity, late marriages, drug addiction, cultural indoctrination and negative use of social media are some of the reasons that can be attributed to this disturbing trend. The impact of falling social values is starkly visible. Unquestionably,this appalling social deterioration will transform our society into a satanic society. We need to reassess the things and do a thorough introspection. It is high time that we inculcate moral values in our children. Undoubtedly, the world is progressing at a fast pace and in this fast paced world parents hardly get time to attend on to their children. Parents need to spare time for their children and inculcate values and good etiquettes in them. Schools also have a role to play in all this. The schools must dedicate a fixed slot in the time table for moral education. We need to liberate our society from the shackles of moral bankruptcy and in order to achieve that we have to make a collective and sustained effort and act as conscientious and responsible citizens.
The author is a freelance writer and can be mailed at [email protected].
