On January 4th, a young girl called Zainab from Kasur was kidnapped while on her way to Quran class. Five days later her dead body was found in a garbage pile-she had been brutally raped and murdered. Her parents, who after this tragic incident demanded justice, were at umraah when their child was abducted and murdered in her own neighbourhood. At just the age of seven, this young girl who like many others her age, only expected generosity and kindness of the world, was instead shown the opposite. How can these people live knowing that they are responsible for a beautiful child, who I am very sure, brought joy to everyone she met, being tortured? A child that was full of love, tenderness and innocence.
She was seven and was not able to defend herself in any way.
She knew nothing of what was going on. At the end of it all, she was left in the dumpster like a piece of trash. As if she wasn’t human and didn’t have a family waiting for her at home. Like she didn’t have a mother she loved, one that she wanted to return to. Hence, what was done to her is nothing short of madness. This child, like any other, wanted to be someone when she grew up, but her dreams were crushed because of one man’s heinous behaviour. A man who has done this deserves to feel exactly what she felt. Furthermore, he deserves to know how she felt when every fresh tear drop fell from her eyes and landed on her cheeks. He needs to be found. And when he is, it is important for him to know – to be hung is an easy way out of the terrible crime that he committed.
So, imagine how it felt for Zainab when she held the hand of a man that she trusted and walked with him as he led her to her death. Zainab is not the first child who had to go through this and unless our government does something about it, she will not be the last. Most of all, since 2015 there have been over seven hundred and twenty cases in Kasur alone, on child abuse. Furthermore, Zainab’s case was the 12th in Kasur that included both physical and sexual assault. This was just in the past 12 months.
Three things seem obvious: 1. Kasur is an unsafe place where children are constantly being abducted.
2. The government is doing nothing to stop that.
3. Parents are not raising men right enough to keep their children safe. Is it not time to raise our voice against this? To make sure this ends? We and her family should be sitting out there; thereby, refusing to get up until this man is caught. We should have protests out on the street demanding that the government takes action. If it fails, like it always does, we must protect ourselves. How many more Zainab’s will it take to make us safe? That’s it. It’s time to make it loud and clear for everyone that this can and will not be accepted anymore. It is about time we say “Justice and safety for our children” and truly, honestly mean it.
Main bhee Zainab hun, aur tum bhee.
This piece is written by Riva Khan, a 12 year old student at Learning Alliance International. Riveted by Zainab’s case, Riva spends most of her time writing short stories. She’s passionate about acting and writing and claims they define her best. “I want to write my heart out” states Riva.