Predators among us

Savage monsters lurk amongst us. It has less to do with lust and more to do with mental sickness or distress that a nine-year-old special needs child was raped, murdered and left in the rear seat of a parked car in Karachi’s Korangi area. While further analysis will be furnished following a toxicology report, it is suspected that the child was poisoned to death. Figures compiled from the city’s three major hospitals show that around 500 women and girls were subjected to sexual assault in 2022 alone.

There is clearly something seriously wrong in our society that such grotesque acts are carried out rather frequently. The problem lies in our dogmatic understanding of sex and sexuality, and its repression has serious consequences to the mental psyche. These cases have shown that Pakistan needs to open up discourse around sex instead of considering it as a taboo topic. Collective awareness regarding such issues is the need of the hour. We must realise that rape is not committed for sexual pleasure, rather it deals with authority, power and control. Those looking to assert it tend to prey on vulnerable children who have less chance of fighting back. Nevertheless, there is still a lot to learn and understand. Instead of relying on myths and stories perpetuated by religious clerics and pseudo-intellectuals, one must rely more on the observation of psychologists and mental health physicians who can better ascertain the motives and reasons that force an individual to commit such inhumane acts.

What is alarming however is that the issue has aggravated into a societal concern. Young souls are being stripped of their youth and those who survive have to deal with mental health issues later on in their lives. Those at the helm need to take notice.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13^th, 2023.

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