These days in Pakistan almost everyday we get to hear news about little girls getting raped. This is a bold issue and it is at the same time very controversial but still we need to throw light upon it. These sort of issues were not this common previously. Everyone is in search of the cause of child rape but no one is finding ways to prevent this dreadful act from happening. Many of the morning shows have interviewed the culprits but what is actually the use of all this? Mostly the people who commit this dreadful crime are very less educated and they usually do not watch morning shows then how are we planning to teach them a lesson?
The point of this article is to give awareness to each and every parent out there. This awareness is to educate your daughters about rape as soon as possible. This extremely increasing news about child rape shows that this has now become a sort of trend. I am very sorry to say this but humanity is decreasing day by day and there is no difference between animals and people who commit this crime. It is so disturbing and depressing that in this year most cases of rape involve little girls whose age is in between 6 to 12 years. Tell me honestly that is this fair? Every one of us has daughter and sisters and if not then we do have mothers. Can we see them in the place of these little angels? The answer is never. However, one cannot control the other but as parents one should guide their children about this serious ill. In this article I will cover some points that every parent must tell their daughters because it is now or never.
The children usually consider weird and scary looking people as strangers and they do not talk to them but they must be told that not every stranger is wicked looking. These days behind the angelic faces demons are present. I would suggest each and every parent to please make your child understand that talking to any stranger will harm them. In case where they feel that some stranger is approaching them, they should call for help immediately. I am a university going student but still my mother tells me to go straight to university and come straight home. My mother says that for a female it is very necessary that she remains confident but this is for adults like us, not for little girls. They love to make friends and talk to other people but we need to stop this. Another advice here will be that one of the parents must accompany their child wherever they go. Children especially female children must not be left alone.
Another advice here will be that be friends with your children. Most of the parents scold their children and as a result heir children start hiding things from them. It is very necessary that you gain the confidence of your child and tell her to inform you immediately whenever any stranger approaches her or teases her. At times children get carried away when the stranger offers them some reward or gift so it is better to give your child the awareness of not to accept anything from any stranger. You can also start giving you children some gifts time to time so that they do not get attracted when some one else tries to give it to them. I know it is very difficult to make a young girl aware about such stuff but still we have to do this because the poor law and order system of Pakistan has made it necessary for us to take an initiative ourselves.
Apart from this in the crucial environment these days, it is very necessary to keep your child under you supervision or send an elder sibling along with the younger child. A girl who is alone is a prey for almost everybody so it is necessary to protect her.
One trick I came across while researching for this topic was that you can try playing a game with your child to prepare her for such incidents. You can act like a stranger and ask your child to respond. Just like we used to play doctor patient game and teacher student game in our childhood. In this way the child will also enjoy and at the same time she will get to know ways to overcome such troubled situations. Teach her to run away, yell loudly and say what exactly is happening. Sometimes when children scream, people around them feel as if they are annoying but actually they need help so it is necessary to teach your daughter to tell exactly what is happening, For example, “Help, this is not my Dad”, “Help, this is not my Mom”, “Help, I’m being kidnapped”, “Help, call the police”, Or simply “Help”. The more you make your child practice, the more she will be ready for any unexpected trouble.
These were some ways through which we can save our angels; you can also come up with innovative and informative ways to save our little daughters. May Allah almighty save us from being the victims of such a dreadful act.
Written by: Moomal Hassan.