Daily Times

Sir: This refers to the article “Who is responsible for Kasur?” by Mahmood Sadiq (Jan, 14). Our society has developed the habit of becoming wiser after the incident, only to witness similar mishaps in the future. Every time tragic incidents strike the nation, one comes across debates over what should have been done, in hindsight, to avert the tragedy.

Much of the problem lies in refusing to take child molestation seriously. When parents and school administrations are advised to beware of child predators, they just shrug it off, confidently saying that kind of sexual perversion is impossible in their families or schools. More worrisome is the fact that our society considers it taboo to talk about child molestation in front of children.

All of our institutions have turned into a downright mess. It is shameful that the police, duty-bound to protect the vulnerable, are busy providing protocol to the VIPs. There is hardly any emphasis laid upon morality, which holds central importance in Islam. Clerics mostly sermonize about religious obligations, caring little about the role of morality and humanity in Islam.

Although the media deserves to be lauded for highlighting such tragic incidents, it fails to keeps the issues burning until the culprits are brought to book. If electronic media shows some awareness content, it mostly covers the issue commercially and glamorously. This, far from helping, makes the sins and crimes socially acceptable.

We, as a nation, need to do serious introspection about where have faltered when it comes to protecting the vulnerable sections of our society.

RIAZ MAHAR

Sukkur

Published in Daily Times, January 15^th 2018.