Nowhere to hide

This refers to the article, ‘Demons of a broken society’ (Jan 14), by Ghazi Salahuddin. The reaction that follows the Kasur incident is nothing new. When a tragic incident takes place, it invites a debate on social media where everyone discusses what should be done to avert such heinous crimes in the future. Our society has developed the habit of strongly reacting after the happening of a tragic incident, however this anger and outrage is short-lived. It is worrisome that crimes like child sexual abuse are quite common in our country. What is even more worrisome is the fact that many parents agree to have a debate on this issue with certain reluctance. This problem cannot be dealt with unless we agree to talk about this issue in a serious manner.

What worse can happen to a society whose institutions are in the state of denial? The police, who are responsible for protecting people, are busy in providing protocol to the VIPs. Clerics never talk about social problems of society. A society where it is a taboo to talk about immoral deeds can never tackle such problems in an effective manner. We need to identify our shortcomings and weaknesses. We need to see what we can do to protect the vulnerable sections of society.

Riaz Mahar

Sukkur