Toy gun culture should be condemned and discouraged
MARDAN: It’s heartbreaking when one reads an article that demonstrates the repercussions of a lack of gun control, especially its proliferation in the toy form. In K-P last week, a young boy lost his life because his brother mistook a gun for a toy and shot him with it. Musa and Salman were playing with each other in their house. Having seen other children in the Shabqadar neighbourhood play with toy guns during Eid, Musa picked up his father’s pistol taking it for a toy. He inadvertently pulled the trigger. As a result, Salman was shot in the head.
Although the local government in K-P had officially banned the sale of toy guns over the Eid holidays by imposing Section 144 for a month, the ban was only implemented in cities, and not in places like Shabqadar where Musa and Salman lived. The government must ban the import of such toys from other countries apart from banning the manufacture of such toys in our country since it harms society ethically. Toy gun culture should be condemned and discouraged. I think it’s sad that toy guns have become a symbol for masculinity. There is no reason for a boy to be playing with toy guns. This is the only way to save children from future accidents like this tragedy.
Hajera Furrukh
Published in The Express Tribune, July 19th, 2017.
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