Daily Times

The culture of corporal punishment in our educational institutes has claimed another life. On Sunday, an eight-year old seminary pupil named Muhammad Hussain was allegedly beaten to death by a cleric in Karachi’s Bin Qasim Town area.

Fair investigation into the matter has already been jeopardised as the parents of the child have refused to allow an autopsy, saying that they have forgiven the cleric. Though, the police have still proceeded to register an FIR against the accused on behalf of the state, the section of the penal code mentioned in the report concerns only with diyat (blood money). Meaning that we won’t be able to figure out if the child was killed and the murderer won’t be punished either. All thanks to the diyat and qisas laws introduced into the penal code during a military dictator’s government.

The cause of justice will remain on shaky foundations so long as such dictatorial laws remain part of our juridical corpus. While the political leadership needs to evolve consensus around abolition of such draconian laws, the authorities in Sindh must intervene in the case in question to take forward the investigation of the child’s killing even if they have to do so against the family’s wishes. Qari Najmuddin must be punished if he’s found guilty of the crime in a court of law. That is important to set a precedent against corporal punishment.

Despite being made illegal [in Sindh] last year, the practice of corporal punishment is still fairly acceptable in education institutes. A study conducted by Alif Ailaan had found that as much as 70 percent of teachers in the country believe that corporal punishment is a valuable teaching tool. Research conducted by UNICEF in Punjab and Sindh in 2014, found that 81 percent of children surveyed had experienced being violently ‘disciplined’ by their teachers.

So far, Sindh is the only province where corporal punishment is completely illegal. Other provinces must also draft legislations and discourage the practice in schools and seminaries.  *

Published in Daily Times, January 23^rd 2018.