- RSS
- Today's Paper
- Subscribe
- beta 2.1
Alerts
Age of innocence: Police have a hand in abuse, say Karachi’s street child sex workers
According to charities in Pakistan, up to 90 per cent of street children are sexually abused.
Sex worker Nadeem, who pimps 10 teenage sex workers aged 14 to 18, lights a cigarette in Saddar on July 25. According to charities which work to protect street children, up to 90 per cent are sexually abused on the first night out. PHOTO: AFP
KARACHI: Ali* knows first hand the misery of life on the streets. Sexually assaulted as a child, he became a pimp of young boys- the only way he knew how to survive as a member of the underclass.
He says he was 12 years old when he was attacked. Since then, he has been dragged into a vicious cycle of horrifying abuse allegedly aided and abetted by police and which few are willing to confront in the Muslim country.
“It was just the third night I slept on a street when a policeman picked me up and did bad things to me. I cried a lot but no one came to help me,” Ali, now 17, told AFP.
He was sexually assaulted for a second time by the leader of a street gang, who then forced Ali to join the 17 other children in his gang. By 14 he was a full-time sex worker. His pimp gave him a mobile phone to keep in contact with clients.
According to charities which work to protect street children in Pakistan, up to 90 per cent are sexually abused on the first night that they sleep rough and 60 per cent accuse police of sexually abusing them.
“Children on the street are beaten, tortured, sexually assaulted, and sometimes killed,” said Rana Asif Habib, head of the Initiator Human Development Foundation (IHDF). ”Police (should) protect people. When policemen are themselves involved in molesting children, who will protect them?” he asks.
“What we have gathered in our research is that policemen make up more than 60 per cent of those who physically torment, sexually harass street children,” said Anwer Kazmi of the Edhi Foundation, the country’s largest charity.
Karachi is home to Pakistan’s biggest community of street children- tens of thousands of victims of domestic violence and broken homes, drugs and crime, in the steamy port city. More than 170,000 street children live on the streets across the country. Illiterate, uneducated and most without family, the children can grow into seasoned criminals, drug addicts or fall prey to extremist militancy.
When Ali turned 16, he tried to escape. He received counselling from a charity and was taught photography. He tried to make it his profession. “I was happy with my work, but a year ago, a policeman put me in the lockup on a false charge, confiscated my camera and abused me sexually,” he said.
The experience turned him against the world. “I decided to become stronger. Now I have my own gang and many influential people are my clients. No one can touch me now.” Ali says he acts as a pimp to 10 teenage sex workers aged 14-18, taking a sizeable cut of whatever the boys in earn. ”Half an hour after finishing with one client I get another call and I forget all about wanting a respectable life.”
Ali lives on a street in the downtown Saddar neighbourhood, but rents a room in a cheap hotel when he has surplus cash. He confesses that he too sexually assaulted a child. “He insulted me and my family so I told him he had it coming. So I grabbed him and gave it to him. I still remember that night. I haven’t done that to anyone else since then and I don’t want to.”
Hanif* is a fisherman’s son. He insists he is 12, but he looks much younger. He left home three years ago because his family beat him and says he was abused by police. IHDF fears he too will be dragged into the sex industry.
“The police tried to make me do bad things six or seven times but I managed to get away,” he said. “But one day, one policeman took me by force, put a cloth over my mouth and took me to a place where he did bad things.”
Shaukat Hussain, head of police in Karachi’s southern district where many street children live, said any officers found guilty would be punished, but denied the force was anything like as culpable as reported. “There are black sheep in our department who are involved in such acts. But we punish anyone whose crime comes to surface and is proved,” he told AFP. “The number of policemen who are involved in such acts is far less than what is being claimed by the media and NGOs,” he added.
Pakistan offers little protection to vulnerable children. “A draft bill for child protection has been pending with the interior ministry for two years,” a senior official of the human rights ministry told AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to talk to the media.
The bill is designed to tighten the laws protecting children, bringing them in line with international conventions, doing more to help children in difficulty and bringing police and other offenders to book for abusing minors.
“There is a visible lack of interest on the part of the government on this issue … despite our constant pursuits,” said the ministry official. One former police official told AFP that he organised seminars to sensitise police on how to treat street children four years ago, but that the programme was abruptly abandoned when he retired.
*Names have been changed to protect identities
Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2011.
Reader Comments (33)
Pakistan Latest Stories
Re-polling at Karachi NA-250: Live updates
Around 86,316 voters will cast their votes during the re-elections.
PTI leader's funeral to be held in Defence, Karachi
"They shot her with one bullet near her chin and she could not survive" says senior police official.
Top stories May 12-19, 2013: Elections 2013
Don't miss the top commented stories of the week on The Express Tribune website.
'Naamaloom Afraad' bring Hyderabad to standstill
A PTI leader claims his house and hotel were attacked early morning.
Sun salutes in the sands of Thar
Yogi Kumar opens a centre for yoga in Mithi after his wife died of blood cancer.
Green car: The juice on hybrids in Pakistan
Getting a greener car is the smart choice, but the government won’t let you make it at least for now.
Copy right: The Last Word
Aysha Raja feels it is everyone’s right to have access to quality reading.
Swelling ranks: Independent MPAs join Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
The party’s seats in Khyber-Pakhthunkhwa Assembly now total 38.
Flood prevention: Dredging of Nullah Leh to be completed by mid-June
Citizens living in the city’s low-lying areas had been advised not to dispose of garbage and solid waste in nullahs.
Recent Slideshows
More in Pakistan
Twitter alert: Prayers, support and despair for Shahbaz Taseer
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, redistributed or derived from.
Unless otherwise stated, all content is copyrighted © 2013 The Express Tribune News Network.
Technical feedback? [email protected]
another story from a city where humanity seems to be dying fast :-(
Recommend
Its the whole country’s story.
And then why shouldn’t Allah’s Azaab not befall on us???
Recommend
Disgusting !
Recommend
This is exactly why this country is in the pits; but no one bothers now do they? People sing tales of their sex encounters with numerous girls; regardless of any thought that one day She might have a “Son” who will do the same with His “Daughter” or if that does not happen then surely ALLAH is “JUST” and No One can Escape him. . . . . The Irony !
May ALLLAH Give us Hidayah and Show us the Path on which we are do not only PRAY and SING Hymns for the Prophet but Do Something which he Purely Taught ….
HOW TO BE A GOOD HUMAN BEING !!!! Years before he was bestowed with ISLAM …
Recommend
Khappay Khappay Pakistan
Recommend
And Jamaat e Islami and other Islamic Parties are too busy to keep Hudood Laws and Blasphemy Laws and other draconian measures in place. If they will step forward to safeguard the interests of those most vulnerable in society and speak for the oppressed and the dis-enfranchised regardless of ethnicities and religion, people will flock to these Islamic Parties as people responded to Prophet (peace be on him.) No wonder these parties get a handful of votes at elections time.
Recommend
Allah help these kids. The people who are doing this should be ashamed and punished and the people who are silent to it should also be ashamed (unfortunately that also includes me, I really wish I could go out of my way to do something for these kids).
Recommend
Tragic as this is, I noticed that this article just deals with the boys? What about the girls, being a female is already considered a disadvantage in this society. I see little girls who look no more than 8 to 10 year old walking around with car wipers on chowrangis – just thinking about it makes my skin crawl. Allah help them all and give us the opportunity to help these kids.
Recommend
OMG the police are molesting and abusing kids sexually? im hiding my children from the pakistani police. anyway the Pakistan police are not friends of the public but the enemy of the public and mostly the enemy of the children. I wonder how they will feel if some thing like that happens to their kids?
Recommend
If everyone will again say this is someone else’s job then there wont be any better time. Everyone, every single person should have to think about it and put some efforts to stop. At least people can report it to media if they see something’s happening around them
Recommend
This is old news that no one really cares about! Didn’t you hear Mr. Taseer’s son was kidnapped, all the trolls here should cry more for him now.
Recommend
Sick, sick, sick, also very heartbreaking!!!!
Look people just give up, this country is finished!!!!!! No wonder the wrath of GOD is on Pakistan.
I visited Pakistan once (Karachi), and never want to go back, the things I saw disgusted me so much, I have never even seen such filthy things in the West, I was so shocked I was seeing this in a Muslim country.
I saw men dressed as women asking for money, little children who should be in school begging for money, selling candy on beaches, or giving rides on camels and horses at the beach!! Filth, trash and poverty everywhere.
But the Pakistanis who are not poor, they are so proud to live in their walled houses with their “kam karne vale” , thinking their living so great. What a dump of a country.
Let me be clear, Pakistan is NOT a Muslim country, its a country full of absurdity and Hindu practices and customs.
Apologies to all the nice Pakistanis who actually do follow Islam.Recommend
Until Pakistan refuses to accept homosexuality and bisexuality this is going to happen. Most Pakistanis believe that homosexuality is a Western fad and God fearing Muslims do not have homosexual tendencies. This is not true. There are gays and bisexuals everywhere. In fact majority of the people are not 100% straight or 100% gay. THey are in between and have both heterosexual and homosexual attractions. There has been research that Bi sexuality exists and people want to experiment their sexuality.
Moreover it is not easy to date, have sexual relations in Pakistan as we are closed religious society. So these things happen under the cover. There are many married men in Pakistan who lead a straight lifestyle but have sexual relations with other guys.
Recommend
Ulema’s need to step up their game .. this is a serious religious offence .. remember the people of Loot,.
Recommend
Dear Ahmed, your ignorance shines through your words. Please do not assume everything good is islamic and everything bad is hindu. I thought your religion teaches you to respect all religions, but I guess people like you never learn from what your beloved prophet said.
Recommend
A name change maybe in order — I haven’t seen much that resembles “pure” in Pakistan.
Recommend
@Rohit:
He is just another victim of his stubborn social conditioning like any other, to follow the rules without ever questioning them….TOTAL SUBMISSION! Deviance against the rules is but a normal human characteristic, either it is a rape, murder or just trespassing a simple traffic rule.
Recommend
Karachi has become worse than the Bombay of yester years.
Aur paidaa karo bayhisaab bachay!
Recommend
Where the inhumanity and immorality are willingly accepted then there is no way to withdraw, unless you step out from a cave and see what you can do and what you cannot to foresee a better future. Stop blaming all the politicians and government officials, Egypt is the best example.
Recommend
@Sajid Narwani:
Child abuse does not equal bi/homosexuality. You might want to actually read the article.
Recommend
I am a muslim. And i second Rohit. We are to respect all religions, not as muslims, but as humans!
Ahmed, with all due respect, you have no right to say anything about a country you have visited only once. “Pakistan is NOT a muslim country” is like saying muslims are not muslims anymore. or are they? Correct me if I’m wrong, rather prove it to me!
You are a muslim, but you have fled away from the country like anyone else with money or with better circumstances. Did islam teach you to leave your muslim brothers and sisters in pain and trouble? NO! You made a choice. But we cannot generalize it to everyone right? So please save your sarcasm for another forum. Because Pakistan is still a muslim country and people with dignity and conscience are still struggling for the betterment of its people. Not everyone is corrupt.Recommend
@Arzoo: If Jamate Islami or other islamic groups help these children…ppl will say: “the mullahs are brainwashing them”. I bet even our government will interfere….and say: “we are stopping jihadi recruitment”…only to get more dollars from US. The what? phir kis pe ungli uthao ge¿
Recommend
You name any bad thing, any bad character, any dishonesty, any cruelty and any inhuman act; you will find it happening anywhere in our beloved country, named THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN. One day, Insha-Allah, our leaders, our rulers, our preachers, our men of say, our wealthies and our intelligentsia will realise and take measures to control it; as now all of them are very busy to grab power and money of the country at all costs.
Recommend
@Cautious:
Oh really? How are the crime statistics in India or are you not done being a spokesperson for the US yet?
Seriously, grow up and engage in a dialog and not be a troll!
Recommend
@Sajid Narwani:
and you have two likes .. Allah’s wrath was on the people of Loot for a reason and that being homosexuality and child sexual abuse. If you are a Muslim then i pity your knowledge of Quran, all sects agree on this so u cant claim your school of tought defers. As a Muslim homosexuality is prohibited for me and in an Islamic state it is . well the issue is child sexual abuse and any world law will declare it haram, so grow out of your liberal genes .
Recommend
man is mentally seriously sick! thats all there is to sayRecommend
@ all those offended by my comments,
First of all I am a Muslim by choice, yes my parents were both Muslims but I never really had a religious upbringing. I grew up in the West and I was an atheist, an admirer of Richard Dawkins.
Also, I did not flee Pakistan, my parents are the ones who left many years ago, so I had nothing to do with it. The Quran does give Muslims the right to leave a place where there is violence and persecution, so there is nothing wrong with immigrating.
I think you can be a better Muslim in California than you can in Pakistan, the very few people here who are religious actually have Islam in the heart, not just rituals and customs.
Alhamdullilah, I came to Islam by myself, no one forced it on me, I studied the deen, actually I studied a lot of religions. Alhamdullilah, the Quran spoke to my heart and melted it, I thank GOD everyday for bringing me to Islam.
Unfortunately Pakistan is not a Muslim country, the customs and practices of Pakistanis have nothing to do with Islam. Just look at Pakistani weddings, 100% haram and shamefully copying Hindu rituals, Jaheez, the culture of backbiting and bribery, jealousy, showing off.
We have no Islam in our heart, even the religious leaders there look like frauds to me.
Pakistan is full of people who pray to “peers” and use the services of palm readers and such, this is all pure and pure kufur.
The behavior practices and customs of Pakistanis is very shameful and have nothing to do with Islam, and it makes me very ashamed to be from a country which follows Hindu customs.
I always tell new converts to Islam, please please don’t look at Pakistanis or even other Muslims and think that is Islam, just study the deen for yourself. Recommend
@Sajid Narwani Don’t you ever heard the story of Hazrat Lut Alai Salam Homosexuality and bisexuality is prohibited in Islam. Men are made for women and women are made for men this is gods nature you can’t change any thing in this. And people who tried this god demolishes them.
Recommend
Dear Ahmed, you have a lot to grow my friend. You have prejudices that are deep rooted in your heart. You are pre-judging all hindus and all pakistanis, the quran says leave the judgement business to god doesnt it? Then why do you judge your fellow humans? Pre-judging is a vice according to the quran, you dont even have the right to judge your own self my friend, how can you judge your fellow pakistanis?
“The words of muhammad are not just for the muslims, but for all of humanity”.
God hides people with din amongst all groups..pakistanis, hindus, educated, uneducated, poor, rich and etc. Do not judge your fellow humans, leave it to your Compassionate and Merciful God. :-)
peace.Recommend
This is a great living example of the so called Police Force . . .that has no ethics, character and humanity. How could such low life brain damaged degenerates be even recruited as Police to safe gaurd the city of Karachi. A great number of Karachi Police has a low standard and cannot be trusted to safe guard the city or even the public most of all children to say the least!!!! This may also be true of Police in other regions and needs to be explored.
The Police has lost the trust and faith of the common citizens.
The City of Karachi cries as it has been unjustly short changed by Corrupt Police and incompetent “good for nothing” Rangers endangering the Karachi population due to their lack of rational intelligence. Total lack of escapist mentality and responsibility by all authorities using all kinds of justifications while the nation is dying. Sad!!Recommend
insane
Recommend
shame on all of us.
Recommend
Police should be punished taking witness from children
Recommend