Justice for Zainab

The verdict in the Zainab rape and murder case has been as expected, with the anti-terrorism court sentencing her murderer Imran Ali to death on four counts. Zainab’s family has hailed the verdict as have other; and perhaps the verdict offers some sense of justice. DNA testing and forensic evidence had left little doubt that Imran was the culprit, and he had confessed to the crime during the trial. It also appears that he was responsible for the rape and murder of at least seven other girls in Kasur. There are, however, many questions that come to mind, questions that should perhaps have been asked when the Kasur child pornography and sex abuse racket broke in 2015 and we learnt how between 2006 and 2014 at least 280 children had been sexually abused, filmed, the footage sold to pornographic rings and money extorted from their parents. The main question is that of the vulnerability of children, especially those from lower-income groups, who cannot always be protected by cars, tall boundary walls and household staff. These children must face the dangers of the streets and in too many cases their parents are forced to hand them over to madressahs or to work as labourers in households or workshops. The year 2001 Javed Iqbal case, in which 100 boys were murdered and their bodies dissolved in acid, had exposed what risks were faced by children who had run away from home because of tensions or domestic violence within their homes.

Sadly the media, schools, society and other groups have neglected the problems which lead to tragedies such as that of Zainab. The manner in which the Zainab case was highlighted at a specific time and politics pulled into it highlights the character of our country and the willingness to exploit a dead child, even before she had been buried, in order to hit out at political enemies. The media allowed itself to become a tool in this game – forgetting the broader aspect of what we can do to prevent other children from facing the same fate as Zainab or cracking down on abuse which is entrenched deep within our society. The death sentence rids us of one man. But there are many others like him who have still to be punished And, until there is a major overhaul in our mindset, we will be unable to protect the weak and the vulnerable. In a country where students are lynched to death and sexual assault is common, apathy still prevails. Should nothing end up changing, this verdict will do little to make us a safer, fairer society.