Not the answer

The National Assembly recently passed a resolution recommending the public hanging of child rapists. The lawmakers consider the measure a deterrent that will root out this brutal crime. Did the parliamentarians assess the negative effect of this law on our country’s image? When a pedophile is publicly hanged the spectacle will be watched not only by those who are present at the site, the scene will go viral on digital media. Adults and children, all across the world, will watch the grisly execution over the internet. Pakistan would come to be known as a country unsafe for children with an archaic legal system.

Furthermore, it is unclear that the law will act as an effective deterrent. Despite the hanging of Zainab Ansari’s killer, incidents of child rape and murder have not abated. This crime cannot be rooted out merely by passing a law. It requires an in-depth study of the circumstances under which a child is more likely to fall prey to this crime, the responsibility of parents and teachers in educating their wards, instilling a mindset in the society that emboldens victims and their families to expose such cases and not feel as though they have ‘dishonoured’ themselves. The passing of this resolution shows that our parliamentarians are inclined to enact laws in an emotional state of mind sans genuine research.

Sayed GB Shah Bokhari

Peshawar