Puppet show sheds light on ‘child abuse’

‘Bachpan Nagar Ka Qissa’ teaches children to tackle dangerous situations

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) National Puppet Theatre kickstarted a two-day special puppet show titled ‘Bachpan Nagar Ka Qissa’ to raise awareness on protecting children, their mental health and climate change.

National Puppet Theatre has been presenting message-oriented puppet shows for the last four decades to keep traditional puppetry alive as well as to create awareness of social issues and talk about their solutions.

This time, three new puppet stories with beautiful music, artistic set and props, animated colourful back projection on rod puppets have been arranged by the National Puppet Theatre & Children Art Workshop of Pakistan National Council of the Arts in collaboration with Secour Islamique France (SIF).

SIF has been working in Pakistan since 2010 in the fields of hygiene, sanitation, provision of clean water, food security and children's rights. SIF is working in less developed areas for orphan children and their mothers.

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SIF Head of Mission Altaf Abro took this initiative in 2021 to create awareness of social issues through puppetry in collaboration with PNCA. This year, PNCA and SIF have decided to present special stories on the current era’s challenging issues which include an alarming rise in child abduction, rape, murders, rise in mental diseases and climate change.

Before the start of puppet show, a panel discussion focused on child protection was conducted. During this insightful session, guest speakers PNCA Director General Muhammad Ayoub Jamali and Deputy Director Shabana Ashraf delved into PNCA's pivotal role in raising awareness about social issues through diverse art forms especially puppetry.

During the discussion, Jamali suggested working in close liaison with various government organisations, NGOs and INGOs established for child protection. He expressed his concern over the rising ratio of child abuse and the lack of reporting of such cases by the parents and victims. PNCA Director Shabana emphasised on the need to realise the effective role of art and culture in shaping society, enlightening the masses about social issues and their solutions through puppetry, stage plays, exhibitions and workshops.

Guest Speaker from SAHIL Imtiaz Khalid Soomro discussed the relevant law provisions for child protection.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2023.