International Day for Street Children: Breaking the begging bowl is not an option for them

The tale of Islamabad’s street kids who know only one way to survive.

ISLAMABAD:

She stood on her tiptoes to catch a glimpse of the driver and then peeped into the car window mumbling words which did not make sense even to her. Four-year-old Wajeeha is among the 1.5 million child beggars who take to the streets of Pakistan everyday to earn a living. 

Life for Wajeeha is different from that of other girls her age. With tiny hands, dusty skin and ragged clothes, she goes from one car window to another in a posh market of Islamabad, barefoot, begging for money.

When asked why she does it, Wajeeha flashed a toothless smile and said, “I don’t know, but may Allah bless you and your family.”

Her nine-year-old sister, Irum, who has been begging for five years in the same market, was also clueless about the job she was born into.

“We don’t know what schools are. I was as old as Wajeeha when I came to this market, where she will follow my footsteps and grow old begging,” said Irum.

More than 50 children travel daily from Khanna Pul on Kashmir Highway to main markets of Islamabad to beg for a living.

These helpless children, who are forcefully snapped up by begging syndicates from a young age.

Ambar said he spends Rs40 to commute from his house to his begging location, where he earns up to Rs150 per day.

Similarly, Kiran said she couldn’t make ends meet for herself and her mother if she did not beg.

“Why should I waste my time in school when I can earn instead. I love wearing nice clothes and I can’t do that if I’m sitting in a school,” said Umar, who has only purchased a shalwar kameez suit and a pair of slippers for himself from his earnings in the past two years.

As the world marks International Day for Street Children, the picture isn’t so rosy for Pakistan. Government sources claim there are as many as 1.5 million children living or working on the streets, while civil society organisations claim the figure to be at 2.5 million.

A press release issued by the Child Rights Movement in Pakistan raised serious concerns over the absence of adequate legislation, poor budgetary allocations and slow progress with regards to the implementation of recommendations made by international human rights bodies for the protection of street children.

Unfortunately, the Islamabad Capital Territory and province of Balochistan do not have legislation for the protection of street children whereas the implementation of the Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act 2004, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare Act 2010, Sindh Child Protection Authority Act 2011, and ICT Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2012 is much-needed, said Arif, a child rights activist.

Moreover, Committee on the Rights of the Child’s recommendations for street children, which include provision of adequate protection, nutrition, shelter, healthcare and education have scarcely been addressed by the government.

“We get picked up by the police and thrown to the Edhi centre. From there, our parents are contacted and if we land in district courts then Rs1,500 to Rs2,000 have to be paid for our release. During this process, we are abused, our money stolen and we are humiliated,” said Irum.

Zeba Hussain, director and principal of Mashal School, while speaking to The Express Tribune said street children needed to be treated differently from the rest of the pack.

Hussain said these children possessed more ‘street smartness’ than other counterparts their age having had the experience of educating 530 internally displaced persons in Islamabad.

Some 78 students studying at Mashal School today are victims of sexual abuse.

“We want to give them a better life than the one that drugs and prostitution offer,” said Hussain.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12^th, 2013.