By Ayesha Bashir
Master of Arts (MA)
English Literature

When AI Becomes a Weapon:
How Deepfakes Transformed Personal Identity
Into a Digital Tool,
Blackmail and Reputational Warfare.
:جب مصنوعی ذہانت  ایک ہتھیار بن جائے
نے کس طرح ذاتی شناخت کو ایک ڈیجیٹل آلے Deepfakes
(دھوکے سے کسی کی ہُوبُہو شکل و آواز دھار لینا)
بلیک میلنگ اور ساکھ کو نقصان پہنچانے کی جنگ میں تبدیل کر دیا۔
जब AI एक हथियार बन जाता है:
कैसे डीपफेक ने व्यक्तिगत पहचान को
एक डिजिटल टूल,
ब्लैकमेल और प्रतिष्ठा को नुकसान पहुँचाने वाले हथियार में बदल दिया।

AI deepfakes are synthetically manipulated audio, video, or images that make people appear to say or do things they never actually did.
“The advent of deepfakes sort of presents employers with a whole new frontier of challenges.”
“No single tool is considered fully reliable yet for the general public to detect deepfake audio. A combined approach using multiple detection methods is what I will advise at this stage.”
“Machine intelligence is the last invention that humanity will ever need to make.”
“AI is like electricity. Just as electricity transformed every major industry a century ago, AI is now poised to do the same.”
“A computer would deserve to be called intelligent if it could deceive a human into believing that it was human.”
“Artificial intelligence is potentially more dangerous than nuclear weapons.”

A Photograph That Was Never Meant to Become a Weapon

A woman uploads a photograph online at a graduation, a wedding, or simply a professional headshot on LinkedIn. She is fully dressed, surrounded by people, doing nothing wrong. She never imagines that photograph could be turned against her.

Someone downloads it. Within minutes, her face can be placed onto a body that isn’t hers, inside a situation that never happened. The image is fake. The consequences are not: family members may see it, classmates may receive it, a stranger may threaten her with it, money may be demanded to stop its spread, an employer may discover it, a fiancé may question her, a community may judge her.

A woman no longer needs to be photographed naked for someone to manufacture her nakedness. The technology has changed. The exploitation has not. Sexual abuse has always been built around power, humiliation and control AI hasn’t created that impulse, but it has made acting on it faster, cheaper and available to people who previously lacked the ability to create such material. No hacking, no stolen private photograph, no technical skill is required — often just a public photo and a tool designed to manipulate it.

“With artificial intelligence, we are summoning the demon.” – Elon Musk

Generative AI brings real benefits writing, translating, designing, analysis, discovery. But every powerful technology carries the possibility of misuse, and deepfake sexual abuse is one of its most disturbing expressions. When humiliation becomes cheap and easy to produce, the question isn’t whether abuse is possible it’s whether society will let an ecosystem built around exploitation, attention and profit keep growing.

A Woman Doesn’t Need to Be Naked for Someone to Manufacture Her Nakedness

Traditional image-based sexual abuse usually involved something real: a leaked private photo, a stolen intimate video. AI-generated imagery removes that requirement entirely there may be no private material, nothing stolen. A public selfie is enough.

This matters because it challenges a dangerous misconception: that fake images can’t cause real harm because they aren’t authentic. The image may be fabricated, but the harassment, fear, blackmail, reputational damage, trauma and loss of control over one’s own identity are all real. A woman can follow every social expectation around privacy and modesty and still be portrayed online as having violated them. She is punished for an act she never committed.

From Digital Experiment to Commercial Abuse Industry

The danger deepens when abuse stops being an individual’s malicious act and becomes a commercial product. AI “nudify” and “undress” services have turned what once required real skill into an accessible app or website. Researchers have documented nudification services attracting large numbers of visitors, some promoted through mainstream platforms despite rules against non-consensual sexual content.

This raises an uncomfortable question: if platforms claim to prohibit harmful content but abusive tools keep operating within their ecosystems, who is responsible? This is no longer only about individual criminals it’s about platform design and corporate accountability. The same accessibility that lets ordinary people build useful tools also lets a teenager manipulate a classmate’s photo, an anonymous user threaten a woman, or a commercial service profit from fabricated sexual imagery. When creating harm takes only a few clicks, society must ask: are we buildin   g technology faster than we’re building responsibility?

Why Women Bear the Greatest Burden

Deepfake abuse doesn’t happen in a vacuum it’s connected to older patterns of inequality and control over women’s bodies. A fabricated sexual image becomes a social weapon: in societies where reputation and family honour carry heavy weight, it can create suspicion, damage relationships, isolate victims, and affect education and employment — even when the victim is completely innocent.

Victims often face the wrong question: “Why was your picture online?” The responsibility belongs to the person who created and distributed the abuse. The attacker doesn’t need the image to be real only for the victim to fear what others might believe. That gap between technology and social trust is the actual weapon.

From a Fake Photograph to a Very Real Threat: Sextortion

Deepfake abuse frequently escalates into sextortion threats to send the image to family, university or employer, to publish it, or to demand payment or further images to stop. The victim faces an impossible bind: cooperating may invite escalating demands; refusing risks exposure; reporting may feel like it risks spreading the material further.

This is why the issue can’t be reduced to “fake pictures.” It’s about power, coercion and using fear as leverage the same old pattern of control through fear, executed with new tools.

The Impossible Burden of Proving a Digital Lie

Photographs have long carried an assumption of authenticity seeing was believing. Generative AI breaks that assumption: a convincing image can show an event, person or situation that never existed, while families, employers and friends may react emotionally before questioning whether it’s genuine. Victims are forced into the humiliating position of defending themselves against something that never happened. “Fake” should never be confused with “harmless” the damage comes from how believable the content appears, not from whether it’s true.

The Internet’s Greatest Weakness: Harm Spreads Faster Than Protection

Unlike a physical photograph, a digital image can multiply endlessly one creator, unlimited copies, screenshots that survive deleted accounts, content that reappears on new platforms after removal. Creating harmful content takes minutes; removing every copy can take months or may never be fully possible. Victims aren’t fighting one image they’re fighting a system capable of endlessly reproducing it.

When Humiliation Becomes a Business Model

Behind much of this content is an attention economy: outrageous thumbnails create curiosity, curiosity drives clicks, clicks generate followers, ad revenue and traffic. Even small rewards become powerful incentives when content is nearly free to produce and can reach millions. AI-generated sexualised imagery used as clickbait works because viewers believe something scandalous is behind it even when the image is entirely artificial. The creator gains attention, the platform gains engagement, advertisers gain impressions, and the person whose identity was exploited pays with privacy and dignity. This unequal exchange is why the problem can’t be solved by identifying individual criminals alone it’s a digital economy that rewards sensationalism, and AI has made producing that content cheaper and faster.

When Children Become the Audience

A related, growing concern is cheap AI-generated content flooding children’s digital spaces. Bright colours and cartoon characters don’t guarantee safety investigations have raised concerns about disturbing or inappropriate material, including sexualised or boundary-violating content involving childlike characters. Recommendation algorithms aren’t built to understand childhood: a child sees entertainment, the platform sees watch time. Young children cannot be expected to understand consent, manipulation, exploitation or sexual boundaries, yet they’re increasingly placed in environments engineered to maximize time spent watching.

Recognising Risk Without Creating Panic

Discussing this responsibly means avoiding exaggeration a single piece of sexualised content doesn’t automatically turn a child violent; human behaviour is more complex than that. Research on young people’s exposure to sexual content has found associations with permissive sexual attitudes, gender stereotypes, risky sexual behaviour and, in some studies, greater acceptance of sexual aggression though researchers caution this evidence is largely observational and doesn’t prove direct causation. That caution matters, but it shouldn’t excuse ignoring the problem. The better question isn’t “will one video create a harmful adult?” but “what ideas are we repeatedly placing in developing minds?” Society already protects children from inappropriate material without needing to prove a direct causal link to a specific crime; digital childhood deserves the same standard.

Pakistan’s Uncomfortable Reality

Pakistan’s digital expansion has outpaced digital awareness. Millions have smartphones, but many don’t understand algorithms; parents often don’t know how deepfakes are made; teachers lack training in synthetic media; law enforcement struggles to keep pace; and conversations about sexuality, privacy and consent remain difficult within many families. That silence breeds vulnerability. When a family discovers fabricated sexual material involving their daughter, the instinct is often “Why was her picture online?” — the right questions are: who created it, who distributed it, who threatened her, who let it spread? Focusing on victims’ behaviour instead of abusers’ actions only teaches the next victim that silence feels safer than justice.

The Azma Bukhari Case

In 2024, an AI-generated sexually explicit video falsely portraying Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari circulated widely; she pursued legal action through the Federal Investigation Agency. The case illustrates how sexualised deepfakes can be weaponised against women in public life — politicians, journalists, activists — sending a chilling message that public visibility invites identity-based attack, which can indirectly restrict women’s participation in society.

Vulnerability Without Simple Causation

Pakistan’s broader child-protection picture organisations like Sahil document thousands of child abuse cases annually shows children already face a vulnerable environment, now layered with more content, more strangers, more platforms and more algorithmic recommendation than previous generations encountered. The real question isn’t whether AI simplistically “causes” crime, but whether protective systems are keeping pace with an increasingly hard-to-control digital environment.

Laws Written for Yesterday

Pakistan’s main cybercrime law, PECA (2016), predates AI capable of fabricating events that never happened, and now faces questions it wasn’t built for: Does privacy get violated even without a real photo? How is non-consent to an image’s creation legally recognised? Who is responsible when hundreds reshare it? How fast must platforms act, especially when the victim is a child? Other countries have begun adapting laws to address synthetic intimate imagery; Pakistan needs a similar conversation — not toward censorship, but toward protecting dignity even when the harm-tool is artificial.

Why Victims Remain Silent

Victims stay silent out of fear of blame, family reaction, social judgment, retaliation, further exposure, disbelief, or officials not understanding the technology. In reputation-conscious societies, reporting can feel riskier than suffering privately. A law is meaningless if victims are too afraid to use it, and no protection system that re-exposes victims is a real protection system.

Who Must Take Responsibility

Responsibility is shared: perpetrators for creating and distributing abuse; platforms for effective moderation and removal; AI developers for safeguards against foreseeable misuse; app stores for enforcing their own policies; regulators for updating laws; law enforcement for technical expertise; schools for digital-safety education; parents for understanding modern platforms; and society for no longer treating victims as the ones who must defend themselves.

Building Protection Before More Damage Is Done

Five priorities emerge:

Speed and reporting — Reporting must be simple, confidential, accessible and capable of triggering rapid action; victims can’t wait weeks while content spreads. Tools like digital fingerprinting can stop known harmful material from resurfacing, shifting the goal from removing abuse after it spreads to stopping it from spreading at all.

Legal reform — Laws must recognise harm even without a real original photo, clarify responsibility for mass resharing, and set obligations for platform removal speed — aimed at protecting dignity, not enabling censorship.

Technological responsibility — AI companies can’t treat misuse as someone else’s problem once it’s foreseeable. Safeguards against generating sexualised imagery of real people (especially minors) must be built in from the start, not bolted on after a crisis, and app stores must actually enforce their own rules.

Education — Digital safety must go beyond “don’t talk to strangers” to cover privacy, consent, manipulation, image-sharing and digital permanence — for children, parents and teachers alike, since a parent who doesn’t understand deepfakes can’t protect a child from them.

Victim support — Victims need legal assistance, emotional support and practical help removing content, alongside a clear message: this is not your fault, and you are not responsible for someone else’s decision to manipulate your identity.

We Must Stop Rewarding Exploitation With Attention

Everyone shares a responsibility: don’t share fabricated sexual content, don’t forward “leaked” images because they look shocking, don’t spread someone’s humiliation even to criticise it, and don’t reward creators who use sexual deception for followers. When exploitation stops generating engagement, one of its strongest incentives disappears.

AI Is Not the Villain. Unchecked Power Is.

The same technology behind harmful deepfakes also advances education, business, science and problem-solving. The problem isn’t that AI exists it’s what happens when powerful technology meets an environment where exploitation is profitable, accountability is weak, victims are socially vulnerable, and harmful content outruns the systems meant to stop it. A fake image can still destroy a reputation; a false threat can still create real fear. The pixels are artificial — the consequences are not.

Pakistan Has a Choice

Pakistan can wait for the next scandal, the next victim, the next viral deepfake, the next child exposed to harmful content or it can build stronger protection now: better laws, stronger enforcement, responsible technology, digital education, survivor support, and a culture that rejects victim-blaming. AI is already part of everyday life; the real question is whether society lets its most harmful uses become normal before deciding the human cost is too high. A woman should be able to upload a photograph without wondering if it will be turned into her own humiliation. A child should be able to watch online content without entering an uncontrolled environment. And no victim should have to disprove a lie about themselves before society decides to protect them — because technology may create the image, but society decides whether it becomes a weapon.

Disclaimer:

Sada-E-Watan provides news and opinion articles as a service to our readers. These articles and news items come from sources outside of our organization. Where possible, the author and the source are documented within each article. Statements and opinions expressed in these articles are solely those of the author (reporter/newspaper) or authors (reporters/newspapers) and may or may not be shared by the staff and management of Sada-E-Watan. Sada-E-Watan was created to provide one convenient central location where a user can quickly scan headlines from many news sources. The headlines listed on Sada-E-Watan pages are links to stories on the sites where these stories are located. The goal of Sada-E-Watan is to help readers access stories on web sites that they would normally not have time to view on a regular basis and to add value to the news source sites by mentioning their name on top, so readers can view these sites.

The Sada-E-Watan takes no responsibility for any loss or damage suffered as a result of using the linked websites or as a result of using the information published on any of the pages of the linked websites.
Whilst every effort is made to ensure downloadable content is free from viruses, Sada-E-Watan cannot accept any liability for damages resulting from virus infection. You should take adequate steps to ensure your virus check regularly when using any device. If you have any questions or comments about Sada-E-Watan, please contact us at: radio@sada-e-watan.com. 

BY Eisha Tir Raazia
Bachelor of Engineering(BEng)
Aerospace engineering

Parents and sex education:
appropriate touching and inappropriate touching.
Why is it so important?
:والدین اور جِنسی تعلیم
مُناسب اور نامُناسب چُھونا
یہ اِتنا اہم کیوں ہے؟
माता-पिता और सेक्स एजुकेशन
सही और गलत तरीके से छूना
यह इतना ज़रूरी क्यों है?

“We’ve tried ignorance for a thousand years. It’s time we try education.”
“Sex education is not only about having sex, but it is also important to look at the health and reproductive system, and protecting the body from infections.”
“If you are not intentional about talking with your children about sex, you may never get around to it. You will never feel like they are old enough or you are prepared enough.”

Sex is an adult thing, this is true. Knowing the proper names for body parts, respecting other people’s bodies and your own, private parts of our bodies, where babies come from, and body changes are all important subjects to discuss with our children. You can have simple conversations like these without ALL the details. Your child will not lose their innocence by simply talking about sexuality. Don’t let this fear stop you.

“Even if you do not feel fully prepared, even if your kid rolls their eyes, even if you wish you started years ago, it is never too late to begin having ongoing conversations about sex with kids.”

In our homes, we spend years teaching children how to be polite. We teach them to lower their gaze before elders, to offer their seats, to hug relatives on Eid whether they want to or not, and above all, never to answer back. What we rarely teach them is how to say “No.”

Think about what a five-year-old is already taught to know about safety. They know not to touch a hot stove, they know not to play with electrical sockets, they know not to open their door for strangers. We teach these things because we know that children need to recognize danger before they can protect themselves. When it comes to their own bodies, however many of us suddenly become uncomfortable.

A child may know not to talk to a stranger, but not know that someone they know can cross their boundaries too. They may know they should listen to elders, but not know that they can refuse an unwanted touch. They may even know something feels wrong, but have no idea who they can tell. Body safety is no different from any other kind of safety. Who is allowed to touch them? Which parts of their body are private? What should they do if someone makes them uncomfortable? What if the person is someone they already know and trust? And, perhaps most importantly, who should they tell? In almost every Pakistani home, these questions are simply never discussed.

“Bachay hain, inhain kya pata.”

But children do need to know. Not every detail, and certainly not in a way that frightens them. They need simple, age-appropriate lessons about their bodies, boundaries, unsafe behavior and speaking up. And keeping them uninformed does not necessarily keep them innocent. Sometimes, it leaves them unprepared.

he Problem with Keeping Children “Innocent”

There is a common misunderstanding that talking to children about abuse, private body parts, or inappropriate behavior will expose them to things they are too young to understand. The intention may be protective but there is a difference between exposing your child to something inappropriate or teaching them how to protect themselves from it.

A child does not need an adult level explanation of sexuality. They need simple information that matches their age.

• They can learn that their body belongs to them and anything making them uncomfortable is important to address.

• They can learn the name of their body parts (and spare me the “haw-hayes” please).

• They can learn that no one has the right to make them feel uncomfortable.

• They can learn that they can say “NO”, even to someone elder than them.

• They can learn that if someone tells them to keep an uncomfortable secret, they should tell a trusted adult.

These are not lessons that take away childhood but basic safety lessons.

“Don’t Talk to Strangers” Is No Longer Enough

For years, one of the most common messages given to our children has been, “don’t talk to strangers.”

But abuse doesn’t always come from a stranger. It can come from a relative, neighbor, teacher, family friend, older cousin, Maulvi everyone trusts or anyone a child has been taught to trust. Predators do not always look dangerous either. Often, they gain a child’s trust through attention, gifts, treats, slowly crossing boundaries while making it look like affection or fun.

“We cannot protect children from something they have never been taught to name, recognize or report”

That is why children need to understand unsafe behavior, not just unsafe people. They should know that they can say no to unwanted touch, walk away when something feels wrong, and tell a trusted adult if someone asks them to keep an uncomfortable secret or crosses a boundary. But we also need to remember that children can freeze, stay silent or be too scared to say no. That never makes the abuse their fault. The goal is not to make children afraid of everyone, but to help them recognize when something is wrong and feel safe enough to tell us. If stranger-danger is where our safety education ends, we haven’t given children the tools they need to recognize abuse.

What Are We Afraid to Teach Them?

Perhaps the biggest obstacle is the discomfort of adults themselves. In Pakistan, conversations about sex education are still shaped by taboo and stigma. Many parents worry that teaching children about private parts, inappropriate touch or abuse will expose them to things they are too young to know. There is a difference between exposing a child to something inappropriate and teaching them how to protect themselves. A child does not need complicated explanations.

We can start with teaching children about privacy, using the correct names for their body parts, explaining boundaries, and letting them know that asking questions is never shameful. There is nothing inappropriate about teaching a child how to recognize inappropriate behavior. What is dangerous is leaving them without the words to understand it.

And then there is Internet. Children are growing up with cameras, messaging apps (WhatsApp), social media apps (Instagram and TikTok) before they are old enough to understand manipulation. They need to know that no one should ask them for private pictures, ask them to keep the conversation private or force them into sending something they are uncomfortable with. The rules of body boundaries apply online too.

How Parents Should Approach the Conversation

Yes, there is also wrong way to have this conversation too. We shouldn’t make them believe that every adult is out there to hurt them. The goal is not to make children afraid of people, but to help them understand their boundaries and feel safe enough to speak when something is wrong.

Parents can start with simple, everyday conversations. Teach children that they have the right to say no to uncomfortable touch, and that they can always tell a trusted adult if something makes them uncomfortable. It doesn’t have to be a scary lecture. Sometimes, a few encouraging words are enough to help a child understand that their feelings matter, and that their bodies belong to them, no matter how young they are.

But there is another part of this conversation that matters just as much i.e. “children need to know they will not be blamed, if someone does something inappropriate to them”. A child may already be frightened by what happened. The last thing they need is to worry about being scolded for it.

“Mama ghussa karengi”

“Koi mujhay trust nahi Karega”

These are the type of fears which can keep a child silent. They may worry that no one would trust them, especially if the person involved is someone the family trusts. That’s why children need to hear, time and again, that they can come to their parents with anything, even if they are scared, and even if they think they have done something wrong.

Start saying this to your children: “You can always tell me. I will listen. You will not be blamed for what someone else did to you”.

“But What If They Don’t Understand?”

Children do not always have the words to explain what happened. They may know something felt wrong but may not understand why. Fear, shame, or worry about getting in trouble can make staying silent feel easier. Research on Pakistani parents has also found gaps in how families talk about private body parts and abuse, despite understanding its importance. Children cannot be expected to speak openly if they don’t feel safe talking about uncomfortable things.

Sometimes a child may also behave differently without saying anything at all. They may suddenly avoid a person or place, become unusually quiet, have trouble sleeping, or seem anxious around certain situations. None of these signs prove abuse on their own, but they are reasons to pay attention rather than dismissing a child as being difficult or dramatic.

A child may not clearly say they were hurt. They might simply say, “I don’t like going there” or “I don’t want to be alone with him.” These small signs matter. If a child does tell you, how you respond matters. Stay calm, listen, let them know they can come back and talk whenever they are ready. Do not blame them, question them repeatedly or immediately confront the person involved in front of the child. Instead of asking, “Why didn’t you tell me?” say, “I’m glad you told me.” Then get the right help and take the disclosure seriously.

What Must We Teach Them: The Actual Practical Rules

“Good touch” and “bad touch” can be a good starting point, especially for younger children, but it is not enough. Children also need to know that their body belongs to them, they can say no, walk away from something that feels wrong, and tell another trusted adult if they are not listened to. Most importantly, they need to know that freezing, staying quiet, or being too scared to say no is never their fault.

The four pillars of child safety:

1. The Swimsuit Rule:

Teach children that the parts covered by swimsuit are strictly private. No one including relatives, friends, teachers, neighbors etc is allowed to see, photograph or touch those areas without any reason. Nor should any adult ask a child to look at theirs.

2. Safe vs. Unsafe Secrets:

Tell your child that safe secrets are temporary surprises like a birthday present. Unsafe secrets are anything involving physical touch, private photos or threats like “Don’t tell your mom”.

3. The “No, Go, Tell” Rule:

Teach the child that if anyone makes you uncomfortable or scared, you “say NO Immediately”, “Go away instantly” and “Tell a trusted Adult”.

4. Unconditional Belief:

Parents must be a child’s safe space; someone they can trust to believe and protect them if anyone makes them uncomfortable.

None of this means a child is responsible for preventing their own abuse. Children can freeze, stay quiet, be manipulated, or simply not understand what is happening. The responsibility always remains with the person who abuses them and the adults responsible for keeping them safe.

Case Studies:

Pakistan continues to see thousands of reported child abuse cases every year. NGO Sahil recorded more than 4,000 cases in 2023 alone, while SSDO reported 2,954 cases of child sexual abuse in 2024. Many children are abused by people they know and trust, including relatives and neighbors. And these numbers only show the cases that are reported. Fear and shame keep many others hidden.

1. The Tragedy of Kasur: Seven-Year-Old Zainab Ansari:

The abduction, rape and murder of seven-year-old Zainab Ansari in Kasur shocked the country. What made the case even more disturbing was that her killer was not a stranger. Imran Ali lived in the same neighborhood and was someone Zainab had no reason to fear. CCTV footage showed her walking with him, unaware of what was about to happen. Investigators later linked him to the assault and murder of several other young girls in the area.

Zainab’s case showed why telling children simply about stranger-danger is not enough. Children also need to understand that danger can come from someone they know, whether it is a neighbor, relative, teacher or family member. Children need to know that they can refuse unwanted touch, move away from situations that make them uncomfortable and tell a trusted adult when something does not feel right.

2. The 2015 Kasur Child Blackmail Ring, Hussain Khanwala:

In the rural village of Hussain Khanwala near Kasur, investigators uncovered a large child sexual abuse network that had been operating for years. More than 280 children were reportedly targeted, sexually abused and filmed by members of the gang.

The children were then threatened with the release of those videos to their families and to the broader community. In a society where shame and fear can fall heavily on the victim, many of them were too frightened to speak about what was happening. They carried the abuse in silence, fearing what would happen if their parents found out. This is exactly why children need to hear that if someone abuses them, the blame is never theirs.

These cases remind us that protecting child is not just about warning them about danger. It is about giving them knowledge, confidence and safe space to speak when something feels wrong.

Conclusion

Maybe we have been asking the wrong question all along. It is not just about how much a child knows about abuse. Do they know that it is okay to say no? Do they know that feeling uncomfortable around someone matters? And if they do speak, do they know that we will trust them?

We cannot protect children from every person or every situation. But we can make sure they grow up knowing that their body belongs to them, their voice matters, and they never have to stay quiet to protect someone else’s feelings. Because teaching a child to speak up means very little, if we don’t listen, when they finally do.

May God Almighty Protect Our Children

God Almighty, please keep our children safe from all physical, emotional, and spiritual harm. Surround them with Your angels to guard them wherever they go, whether they are at school, at home, or out in the world. Be their strong tower, their refuge, and a shield against any danger or evil influence that tries to come near them. Give our children wisdom, discernment, and courage to recognize potential harm and walk away from it. Fill our own hearts with Your peace, replacing our worry and fear with trust in Your unfailing strength and constant presence. We place them safely into Your hands today and always…Amen.

Disclaimer:

Sada-E-Watan provides news and opinion articles as a service to our readers. These articles and news items come from sources outside of our organization. Where possible, the author and the source are documented within each article. Statements and opinions expressed in these articles are solely those of the author (reporter/newspaper) or authors (reporters/newspapers) and may or may not be shared by the staff and management of Sada-E-Watan. Sada-E-Watan was created to provide one convenient central location where a user can quickly scan headlines from many news sources. The headlines listed on Sada-E-Watan pages are links to stories on the sites where these stories are located. The goal of Sada-E-Watan is to help readers access stories on web sites that they would normally not have time to view on a regular basis and to add value to the news source sites by mentioning their name on top, so readers can view these sites.

The Sada-E-Watan takes no responsibility for any loss or damage suffered as a result of using the linked websites or as a result of using the information published on any of the pages of the linked websites.
Whilst every effort is made to ensure downloadable content is free from viruses, Sada-E-Watan cannot accept any liability for damages resulting from virus infection. You should take adequate steps to ensure your virus check regularly when using any device. If you have any questions or comments about Sada-E-Watan, please contact us at: radio@sada-e-watan.com. 

By Ayesha Khan
FSc (Faculty of Science)
University of Peshawar

Pakistani Girls Education Trapped By Honor,
Early Marriages And Deep-Rooted Gender Discrimination
پاکستانی لڑکیوں کی تعلیم, غیرت کے نام پر پابندیوں،  کم عمری کی
شادیوں اور جِنسی اِمتیاز کی گہری جڑوں میں گھری ہوئی ہے۔
पाकिस्तान में लड़कियों की शिक्षा ‘सम्मान’,
कम उम्र में शादी और गहरे जेंडर भेदभाव में फंसी हुई है।

“I raise my voice – not so I can shout but so that those without a voice can be heard…. We cannot succeed when half of us are held back….The extremists are afraid of books and pens, the power of education frightens them. They are afraid of women.” Malala Yousafzai
“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” Malala Yousafzai

Pakistan was described as “among the world’s worst performing countries in education,” 

Education is considered as one of the best tools for the transformation of the society, still millions of girls in Pakistan are unable to pursue their education after primary level. In Pakistan, even if a number of girls want to learn and have a better future, the local customs, poverty, marriage at an early age, lack of
schools, and gender inequality hinder them from completing their education. There are high numbers of out-of-school children, and significant gender disparities in education, across the entire country, but some areas are much worse than others.

Deep-rooted patriarchal norms, early marriages, and strict concepts of family honor. According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2025-2026, while the overall literacy rate has climbed slightly to 63%, a severe gender disparity persists: the male literacy rate stands at 73%, compared to just 54% for females. This means nearly half of all Pakistani women remain illiterate, heavily concentrated in rural areas where female literacy drops to a stark 44%.

Trapped by Honor 
The trap of honor and mobility in several conservative rural locations in Pakistan, it is believed that the honor of a family is determined by the chastity of their female members. This leads to formidable obstacles: Lack of access to education for girls is part of a broader landscape of gender inequality in Pakistan. The country has one of Asia’s highest rates of maternal mortality. Violence against women and girls—including rape, so-called “honor” killings and violence, acid attacks, domestic violence, forced marriage and child marriage—is a serious problem, and government responses are inadequate. Pakistani activists estimate that there are about 1,000 to 2,000 honor killings every year. Twenty-one percent of females marry as children.

“I have already seen death, and I know that death is supporting me in my cause of education. Death does not want to kill me.” Malala Yousafzai

The Invisible Wall at Adolescence:
Although there has been some increase in enrollment of girls in primary education, the figures plummet in secondary education as families remove their daughters from school to enforce their isolation (purdah).So that no other man will lay eyes on our daughters. They stop sending them to school name of some honor. Some families believe that girls cannot success through education. Girls cannot succeed. Some families believe that education a waste girl time. They believe that men are there to earn money. So, they give good education to men and teach girls how to be household responsibility so that
when they get married, they can handle their in-laws well.

Another Major Reason:
And the second biggest reason is that there is a huge shortage of money in Pakistan. The socio economic conditions of the people are very bad, so they cannot give their children a good education, nor are there any schools in their area. Colleges are too far away for them, and they don’t have enough money to give their children a better educational opportunity to boys and get them admitted to good colleges. They are afraid that they cannot sell their daughters to distant areas, lest our daughters take this wrong step or if something goes wrong with them, it will harm our honor. Absence of Safe Transport: The fact that there are no safe transit options leaves girls vulnerable to street harassment, thus parents decide to keep them indoors instead of letting them go to school.

“When women are educated, their countries become stronger and more prosperous.”

The Impact of Religion:
The patriarchal readings of religion are often used by village leaders or conservative clerics to cast shame on people that allow their daughters to study secular subjects. There has been a massive increase in the provision of religious education, ranging from formal madrasas to informal arrangements where children study the Quran in the house of a neighbor. Religious schools are often the only type of education available to poor families. They are not, however, an adequate replacement, as they generally do not teach non-religious subjects.

The Effects Of Child Marriage: 
Child Marriage Begins a Girl’s Life long Journey towards Leaving Education Behind. Immediate School Dropouts: Girls typically leave school the moment they marry due to sudden domestic expectations and childbearing. Loss of Autonomy: Married underage girls lose decision-making power over their own lives, leaving family members or husbands in control of whether they continue learning.

Significant Statistics : Child marriage functions as a major barrier to girls’ education in Pakistan, permanently cutting short schooling and limiting future opportunities for millions of young women. According to UNICEF, 21% of Pakistani girls marry before the age of 18, and over half of married girls aged 15 to 19 have never attended school.

Child marriages end education for girls making them reliant on their in-laws, without education they could not handle financial matters and exposed to grave risk of domestic abuse and health problems. For many of these families who are struggling with finances, it is difficult for those girls to gain an education In many of these cultures, boys are considered to be the future earners for their families, while the girls are expected to marry and join another family This results in the boys being prioritized for education girls are often expected to contribute to the household in other ways, such as cooking and caring for younger children.

Queen Rania of Jordan: “I’ve always believed that when you educate a girl, you empower a nation.”

Marriage responsibilities now take precedence over a girl’s education and expectations. Lower Attainment: Early marriage directly correlates with lower literacy, reduced attendance, and poor academic performance. Health Risks: Child brides face high rates of early pregnancy, dangerous childbirth complications, and domestic abuse. Intergenerational Poverty: Lacking an education and personal autonomy, young mothers struggle to escape poverty, which negatively affects the health and nutrition of their own children.

High Cost of Education:
Poor families struggle to meet the costs of sending their children to school. Government schools are generally more affordable than private education, but they sometimes charge tuition, registration or exam fees, and they almost always require that students’ families foot the bill for associated costs. These include stationery, copies, uniforms, school bags, and shoes. Text books are sometimes provided for free at government schools, but sometimes families must pay for these as well.

The many poor families who cannot access a government school are left with options outside the government school system. The range of private schools, informal tuition centers, nongovernmental organization (NGO) schools, and madrasas creates a complex maze for parents and children to navigate. Many girls experience several—or all—of these forms of study without gaining any educational qualifications.

Video Credit: VOA/YouTube.

Poor Quality of Education:
Many families expressed frustration about the quality of education available to them. Some said it was so poor that there was no point sending children to school. In government schools, parents and students complained of teachers not showing up, overcrowding, and poor facilities. At private schools, particularly low-cost private schools, concerns related to teachers being badly educated and unqualified, and the instruction being patchy and unregulated. Teachers in both government and private schools pressure parents to pay for out-of-school tutoring, an additional expense. In both government and private schools, use of corporal punishment and abusive behavior by teachers was widely reported.

“Some girls cannot go to school because of the child labor and child trafficking.” 

Corruption:
Corruption is a major issue in the government school system and exists in several forms. One of the most pervasive is nepotism or bribery in the recruitment of teachers and principals. Some people simply purchase teaching positions, and others obtain their jobs through political connections. When people obtain teaching positions illicitly, they may not be qualified or motivated to teach, and they may not be expected to. Especially in rural areas, some schools sit empty because corruption has redirected the teacher’s salary to someone who does not teach, according to education experts.

Poverty:
For many parents, the most fundamental barrier to sending their children to school is poverty. Even relatively low associated costs can put education out of reach for poor families, and there are many poor families in Pakistan. Out-of-School Children: Over 26 million children are out of school in Pakistan, and girls make up roughly 53% to 62% of this un-enrolled population. High Dropout Rates: Roughly 85% of girls drop out after primary school because families cannot afford further education or travel.
Gender Disparity: Girls from poor rural families are significantly less likely to attend school than boys in the same financial situation. Child Labor and Housework: Impoverished parents often keep girls home to do domestic chores, care for siblings, or work in home-based industries like sewing and embroidery to supplement family income. Distance and Travel Costs: Rural schools are often miles away, and families cannot pay for safe public or private transportation

Insecurity:
Many families and girls cited security as a barrier to girls studying. They described many types of insecurity, including sexual harassment, kidnapping, crime, conflict, and attacks on education. Some families said insecurity in their communities worsened in recent years, meaning younger children have less access to education than older siblings.

Families worry about busy roads; the large distance many girls must travel to school increases risks and fears. Many girls experienced sexual harassment on the way to school, and police demonstrate little willingness to help prevent harassment. Girls sometimes hesitate to complain about harassment out of fear they will be blamed, or their parents’ solution will be to take them out of school.

“Communities that give their daughters the same opportunities as their sons, they are more peaceful, they are more prosperous, they develop faster.”

Girls and families also fear kidnapping, another fear exacerbated by long journeys to school. This fear is heightened when girls are older and seen as being at greater risk of sexual assault. Attacks on education are disturbingly common in Pakistan. When violence happens in a school or in a neighborhood, it has long term consequences for girls’ education. Families across different parts of the country described incidents of violence in their communities that kept girls out of school for many years afterwards.

Shortage Of Girls Schools:
Some communities have primary schools but lack nearby middle and secondary schools for girls. The lack of female teachers is another issue. Parents in conservative area will to send their daughters to schools that have female teachers. So, a lack of female teachers will lead to fewer girls enrolling in those schools. Missing boundary walls, inadequate toilets, poor sanitation facilities and unsafe routes to school all pose a risk to adolescent girls, causing their parents to be reluctant to allow them to attend school. Creating an environment where girls can safely attend school will allow them to continue their education and improve their overall lives.

“Preventing girls from being educated is to steal their future.”

The government should invest in safe transportation, girls’ secondary schools, functional toilets, boundary walls and recruiting female teachers. Also, schools can work to create an environment that encourages girls to continue their education. Also, the existing laws that protect children from early marriage need to be implemented and the communities should be encouraged to embrace the long-term benefits of providing education to girls. Girls’ education is not only a matter of individual opportunity but also needed for the development of Pakistan. Educated girls are better equipped to participate in the economy, make informed decisions, support their families and contribute to their communities.

“All I want is education. And I am afraid of no one.” Malala Yousafzai

How to improve girls education in Pakistan:
Raise public spending: Allocate more of the national GDP to education to meet international benchmarks, moving past the current low levels. Gender-responsive budgeting: Ensure budgets specifically provide resources for girls’ latrines, boundary walls, and female teachers. Track spending: Use grassroots groups and NGO audits to stop corruption and make sure funds reach rural girls’ schools. Conditional cash transfers: Expand stipend programs for families who keep their teenage daughters enrolled in secondary school. Cover indirect costs: Provide free textbooks, uniforms, and school supplies to ease poverty burdens. Safe transportation: Fund bus services or travel allowances so girls in remote villages can safely reach middle and high schools. Close proximity schools: Build smaller, localized primary and secondary schools in rural and marginalized areas. Improve facilities: Equip all schools with clean water, electricity, and secure boundary walls. Safe spaces: Stop gender-based violence, bullying, and corporal punishment through active play-based learning and counseling. Hire local female teachers: Recruit and train staff from local communities to ease parental security concerns. Parental outreach: Host town halls and village meetings with mothers and community leaders to explain the long-term economic and health benefits of educating girls. Public-private partnerships: Work with local non-profits and private foundations to reach out-of-school children with flexible, localized learning models.

“If one man can destroy everything, why can’t one girl change it?” 

Let’s inspire men and boys to take up the cause of advancing women’s and girls’ rights in our society. In order to empower and educate women and girls for a more just, inclusive, and forward-thinking future, let’s make a commitment to investing in girls and giving them a nurturing and supporting environment.

“Educate a woman, and you educate a family, a generation, and the world.” 

Disclaimer:

Sada-E-Watan provides news and opinion articles as a service to our readers. These articles and news items come from sources outside of our organization. Where possible, the author and the source are documented within each article. Statements and opinions expressed in these articles are solely those of the author (reporter/newspaper) or authors (reporters/newspapers) and may or may not be shared by the staff and management of Sada-E-Watan. Sada-E-Watan was created to provide one convenient central location where a user can quickly scan headlines from many news sources. The headlines listed on Sada-E-Watan pages are links to stories on the sites where these stories are located. The goal of Sada-E-Watan is to help readers access stories on web sites that they would normally not have time to view on a regular basis and to add value to the news source sites by mentioning their name on top, so readers can view these sites.

The Sada-E-Watan takes no responsibility for any loss or damage suffered as a result of using the linked websites or as a result of using the information published on any of the pages of the linked websites.
Whilst every effort is made to ensure downloadable content is free from viruses, Sada-E-Watan cannot accept any liability for damages resulting from virus infection. You should take adequate steps to ensure your virus check regularly when using any device. If you have any questions or comments about Sada-E-Watan, please contact us at: radio@sada-e-watan.com. 

By Shagufta Mobeen
Educationist,
M.Sc Zoology + B.Ed

A Horrific, Repulsive Face of Society:
Sexual Abuse of Children in Madrassas
:مُعاشرے کا ایک بھیانک، مُکروہ چہرہ
مَدرسوں میں بچوں کا جِنسی اِستحصال
:समाज का एक भयानक और घिनौना चेहरा
मदरसों में बच्चों का यौन शोषण 

 “Abuse is never deserved, it is an exploitation of innocence and physical disadvantage, which is perceived as an opportunity by the abuser.”
“No human being should be maltreated under any circumstances. We are all wonderful creation of God. May we affectionately love one another.”
“Children don’t get traumatized because they are hurt. They get traumatized because they’re alone with the hurt.”

Introduction: A Widespread and Silenced Problem

Sexual abuse badly affects or is widely spread in homes, streets, markets, and other places. It affects religious institutions too, especially madrassas. No place is safe for children. If we look at the research, we know that it seems to be mainly connected to power dynamics. When power dynamics are imbalanced, the inevitable result is abuse.

There are a lot of madrasas in Pakistan, and millions of children are going to madrasas with the intention of learning the Holy Quran, receiving religious training, and developing good morals. Madrasas particularly claim to be centers of religious guidance, knowledge, training, and character building, where children are nurtured spiritually and morally. Such institutions are expected to provide moral guidance. Here, children aged 5 to 15 are going through a sensitive stage and need protection, guidance, and trust. Children are not empowered. Children are small. The majority of madrassah students come from poor families. Mostly, there are male teachers in madrassahs. Children are at the mercy of male teachers.

“The true character of a society is revealed in how it treats its children.

Globally, children are at risk of sexual abuse. In practically every region of Pakistan, child abuse occurs. Over 2 million pupils are taught at Pakistan’s more than 22,000 madrassas. However, there are a lot more madrassas that are not registered. A terrible reality exists beyond the walls of these esteemed establishments: thousands of youngsters are sexually abused in deafening silence. Fear prevents the kids from criticizing clergy, and clerics will undoubtedly deny any wrongdoing. Any criticism of a cleric is viewed as an assault on the faith.

Mufti Azizur Rehman after he was detained and charged with sexually abusing a student at a religious school, in Lahore.

“I am very ashamed at what I did,” Mufti said during the interrogation.

Mullahs, who pretend to be pious and sport a long beard, commit these heinous crimes behind closed doors while publicly denouncing people who are liberal, open-minded, and clean-shaven. Many of these men engage in these immoral acts despite claiming to be pious. Religious leaders were frequently sexually unsatisfied and under mental strain, attempting to repress their sexual urges as a sign of their strong religious beliefs. Such religious authorities denigrate Islam. In addition to assaulting the students, they had taught them how to act in this way toward one another.

Lack of Certifications.
Psychological and emotional training is necessary for teachers, but in madrassas, mostly teachers do not hold any certificates. And teacher certificates are not mandatory in madrassas. There is no check on emotional intelligence, so they cannot understand the moral responsibilities toward the children.

How Abuse Is Concealed and Silenced
Because they are aware that children’s allegations of sexual abuse are far less likely to be accepted, some clerics therefore target vulnerable children. Thus, priests are encouraged to continue their actions without consequence. Many victims of child sexual abuse endure silent suffering as they lack the vocabulary to express what is occurring to them. When parents learn of abuse, social pressure may also keep them from reporting it, causing it to go unreported.

Maulvi Naimat Yaseen raped a 12 year old boy in the Mehrab of Masjid in Larkana Sindh. SSP Larkana Rohail khoso confirmed the arrest of Pedophilia

Maulvi’s (religious clerics) sexual abuse of children is a widespread issue, according to authorities, and the numerous allegations they have received are only the top of the iceberg. However, none of the numerous reports have led to a Maulvi being found guilty. In Pakistan, the influential religious Qari, also known as the Maulvi, band together when one of them is accused of abuse. By accusing victims of blasphemy or defamation of Islam, they have been able to conceal the pervasive abuse.

Families choose to dismiss the charges because they are overcome with guilt and fear that the stigma of being sexually assaulted will follow a kid into adulthood. Usually, when a family forgives the Maulvi, the inquiry comes to a conclusion when the allegations are dropped. Maulvis frequently target young males who have not yet reached puberty. Boys, who are less likely to disclose a sexual assault, were often accessible to and trusted by the Maulvis.

“Trauma is not what happens to you. Trauma is what happens inside you as a result of what happens to you.”

The Cloak of Holiness
On 15 July 2026, 12-year-old Imran Ali died after being sexually abused at a madrassah. The incident occurred in a madrasa in Tando Allahyar district of Sindh. Nobody deserves to go through that, especially in a place of worship.

When an incident of sexual abuse occurs in a madrassa, it becomes a cause of concern not only for an individual but also for the entire society. Any kind of abuse of such children can have profound negative effects on their mental, emotional, and physical health and even loss of life. Teachers who sit in madrassas are people to whom a cloak of holiness is thrown. When they do any sexual action or sexual harassment comes up, people make interpretations of it. Because of this, the cloak of holiness. But in other places or in other institutions, there are no interpretations, and no one is defending the abusers. But in madrasas, people defend sexual abusers.

Video Credit: France 24 English/YouTube

Case Studies from Across Pakistan

Muhimman, Pakpattan
On Tuesday, February 4, 2020, Muhimman, a Pakistani student, was allegedly mistreated by a cleric in Pakpattan, Pakistan. He was raped earlier that year by a clergyman at the religious school he often frequented.

Yaous, Kohistan
One of those youngsters is Yaous, eight years old, from the isolated northern Kohistan region of Pakistan. It was a holiday in the madrassa in late December of last year. The majority of the pupils were gone. A few classmates and Yaous were the only ones who had stayed behind. His parents could not afford the cost of transportation to his village, which was hours distant. For his age of eight, Yaous is petite, with subtle features. During an interview with the AP, Yaous’ small body trembled as he described what happened. Yaous’s father wanted to educate his son despite being a lowly laborer with no formal education and speaking only the local tongue. He had heard that some local boys had attended a religious school at Mansehra, several hundred kilometers south of his hamlet. His father hadn’t talked to his son for months, since he couldn’t even afford a phone. Yaous claimed he was alone inside the mosque with the cleric Qari Shamsuddin while the other pupils had gone to wash their clothes. According to the child, Shamsuddin took hold of his hand, pulled him into a room, and locked the door. “It was extremely cold. I didn’t understand why he was taking my warm clothes away,” Yaous said in a barely audible whisper.

He stated the cleric reached for a stick, about 12 inches long. “I cried and screamed because of the pain, but he wouldn’t stop,” Yaous remarked. After being confined for two days and repeatedly raped, the child became so ill that the cleric took him to the hospital, fearing he was going to die.

According to Dr. Faisal Manan Salarzai at the hospital, Yaous shouted whenever anyone tried to approach him. Because of his small stature and delicate appearance, Salarzai referred to Yaous as “the baby.” The child had numerous bruises all over his body, including on his head, chest, legs, and other areas, according to Salarzai. Suspecting sexual abuse, Salarzai ordered his transfer to the isolation unit and examined him. Brutal and repeated attacks were discovered.

However, according to Salarzai, Yaous’ uncle claimed the boy had fallen, rather than that his nephew had been sexually molested. “At last, the uncle said: If news spreads in our area that he has been sexually assaulted, it will be very difficult for him to survive in our area,” Salarzai said. “He was not willing to talk about it or even think that he was sexually assaulted,” Salarzai said.

However, the evidence was overwhelming, and the doctor contacted the police. The cleric was arrested and is currently in jail; police matched his DNA samples to those found on Yaous. “I want this mullah hanged. Nothing else will do,” said Yaous’ father, Abdul Qayyum, who expressed shame that he hadn’t spoken to his son for over three months prior to the attack.

Misbah, Basti Qasi, South Punjab — “Forgive Me”
Religious clerics do not simply sexually abuse young boys. Religious leaders have also targeted young girls, like Misbah from the village of Basti Qasi in south Punjab. Misbah, 11, who had trouble speaking, said that after three years of studying the Quran in the mosque next door, she was sexually assaulted. She had stayed behind to sweep the mosque when the attack occurred one morning. The cleric, whom she trusted, asked Misbah for help after the other children were sent home.

Speaking in her native Saraiki, she said: “I had just started cleaning when he slammed shut the mosque door. I had no idea why, but he suddenly grasped me and dragged me into a separate room. I was crying, shouting, and screaming.” She was unable to estimate the duration of the attack. She could only recall shouting for her father to come to her aid, but the cleric would not stop, she said.

Mohammed Tanvir, her uncle, was the one who saved her. He had stopped by the mosque to use the toilets on his way to college. Outside the door, he saw a pair of children’s shoes. “Then I heard screams from within; she was begging for her father,” Tanvir said. His niece was sprawled on the floor, unclothed, when he opened the door. “She appeared to have passed out,” he said. Her pants were in a corner, stained with blood. At his feet, the religious leader fell. “He kept begging, ‘Forgive me,'” Tanvir said.

After being arrested, the religious leader was released on bail. Muhimman’s aunt claimed there had been a deliberate attempt to quiet the family following the attack on the young boy who had proudly displayed his writing abilities. Shazia stated, “The villagers refuse to expel him because they believe that they are our spiritual leaders and the imams of our religious places.” “They all came to our home and they know we are poor and he is an imam and they said we should forgive him but we won’t,” she said, adding that her father, Muhimman’s grandfather, refused.

Despite the fact that the attack was captured on camera by a number of village boys who broke down the bathroom door and scared the cleric, Shah, away as he attempted to rape Muhimman, Shah is on the run. Police say they are investigating and have filed a charge, though several neighbors near the mosque say police are not actively looking for him. They appeared angry, but also accepted that he would not go to jail. Shazia stated: “A beast like that should not be spared at all.”

Video Credit: AP/YouTube

Rawalpindi Case
On Wednesday, Rawalpindi reported that Ibrahim Yaseen had allegedly sexually abused a 12-year-old child in a madrassa. The child was in a madrassa at the village mosque, a two-story structure, according to the FIR filed under the authority of the Gujar Khan Police Station. The boy was sitting in the assigned place when the accused allegedly approached him after he completed his task of calling the prayer (Azaan). According to the complainant, the suspect filmed a video of the child being sexually molested, which eventually went viral.

Sahiwal Case
Omer Hayat, a prayer leader (Qari), and Sanwal Parvez, a caretaker of a mosque and seminary in Ada Shabeel, Kameer Town, Sahiwal, were both charged by the Kameer Police with molesting, raping, and filming students at the madrassah Jamia Noor ul Quran, situated at Chak 116/9-L, Ada Shabeel. The accused’s phone was found to contain dozens of videos of sexual acts he had recorded. The Kameer police detained both suspects after discovering more than 60 (63, to be exact) videos of severe sexual violence in a single folder; other folders were password protected.

Despite his polio-related disability, Sanwal Parvez, the caretaker of the seminary, was also accused in the June 18 FIR of repeatedly raping students and filming the abuse. It later emerged that he had also been raping his own disabled sister. According to the FIR, Parvez was a fellow instructor and caretaker from when the mosque and madrassa were established years earlier by the Qari, who also made amulets.

The complaint was filed after a local laborer took his sister-in-law to the madrassah in search of an amulet to treat a headache. The caretaker allegedly led the woman into a room, sexually assaulted her, and, with the assistance of an unnamed student, filmed the assault when the Qari was not present. He later blackmailed her and demanded money using the video.

When the matter was brought before village elders, it was discovered that the phone also contained multiple videos allegedly capturing the caretaker and the Qari raping and assaulting children, as well as videos of madrassah pupils being forced to abuse one another while the caretaker was present.

Nine-Year-Old Boy Raped by a Madrasa Maulvi (religious cleric)
A madrasa maulvi raped a nine-year-old child in Pakistan. The victim said: “I was crying, I was being victimized by him. He put my shirt in my mouth. I spent the entire night crying. I asked my parents to please take me out of the madrassa in the morning. “The accused cleric stated: “I’ve been married for six or seven years, and my wife is attractive. Why would I harm the child in this way?”

Other Reported Cases
A case of sexual abuse in a madrasa in Lahore shocked the nation.
1. A student named Sabir Shah said that Mufti Aziz-ur-Rehman sexually assaulted him for more than a year. Rehman was a member of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam , a group of religious scholars who follow a very traditional view of Islam. It was not an isolated occurrence.
2. Additional reported incidents include: a video of a Shiite priest abusing children, which surfaced shortly after.
3. A cleric in Pak Pattan who raped a nine-year-old child in May 2017.
4. A cleric in Lahore charged with raping a minor in 2018.
5. A cleric in Multan who sexually abused a thirteen-year-old girl with a
disability in 2019.

When the perpetrator is not repeatedly held accountable, some individuals become serial offenders, increasing the risk of further children being affected. Serial offenders target one child after another because they are mentally ill or psychologically damaged.

The End of Silence and the Arrest of the Criminals:
Lessons from Chakwal
An instructive and painful incident in Chakwal, Pakistan. This incident that came to light in the year 2024 is enough to open our eyes: two teachers of a madrassa subjected 15 innocent children to their brutality. They were busy with this heinous crime for weeks, and the main reason for this was the fear and terror within the children, due to which they did not even mention this to their parents.

This cruelty was exposed when the parents of a 12-year-old boy, seeing knife marks on his body, took immediate action and informed the police, after which the perpetrators were arrested. If the criminals are not arrested, crime increases.

The government should improve and supply more tools and training so that police, doctors, judges, social workers, and child welfare institutions can respond to reports of child sexual abuse in a timely manner to claims of child sexual abuse.

Children in Pakistan should have a secure childhood.
Unfortunately, such incidents continue largely because police do not assist poor families. Victims report being asked for bribes, with no meaningful action taken afterward, leaving no real authority to pursue legal action on their behalf.

Shared Responsibility
- There must be strict supervision of male teachers, or there must not be any male.
- There should be certifications.
- There should be training.
- There should be psychological tests. Protecting children is a shared responsibility of all of us. Silence exacerbates the problem, while timely awareness, monitoring, and justice play a vital role in its eradication.
- Children are children. Their protection and preservation are shared responsibility of all of us.

Child sexual abuse within Pakistan’s madrassas (Islamic seminaries) is an endemic, deeply entrenched crisis that operates under a severe culture of silence and systemic impunity

 Saima Khan* comforts her child who was allegedly raped
by a religious cleric in Kehror Pakka, Pakistan. ─ AP

Trauma is a result of an overwhelming sense of danger, powerlessness, and fear. Healing is a result of feeling safe, empowered, and supported. 

The Shield of Impunity

Disclaimer:

Sada-E-Watan provides news and opinion articles as a service to our readers. These articles and news items come from sources outside of our organization. Where possible, the author and the source are documented within each article. Statements and opinions expressed in these articles are solely those of the author (reporter/newspaper) or authors (reporters/newspapers) and may or may not be shared by the staff and management of Sada-E-Watan. Sada-E-Watan was created to provide one convenient central location where a user can quickly scan headlines from many news sources. The headlines listed on Sada-E-Watan pages are links to stories on the sites where these stories are located. The goal of Sada-E-Watan is to help readers access stories on web sites that they would normally not have time to view on a regular basis and to add value to the news source sites by mentioning their name on top, so readers can view these sites.

The Sada-E-Watan takes no responsibility for any loss or damage suffered as a result of using the linked websites or as a result of using the information published on any of the pages of the linked websites.
Whilst every effort is made to ensure downloadable content is free from viruses, Sada-E-Watan cannot accept any liability for damages resulting from virus infection. You should take adequate steps to ensure your virus check regularly when using any device. If you have any questions or comments about Sada-E-Watan, please contact us at: radio@sada-e-watan.com. 

By Shagufta Mobeen
Educationist,
M.Sc Zoology + B.Ed

Silent Screams: How Sexual Abuse and
Murder Are Tearing Our Society Apart.
خاموش چیخیں: جنسی زیادتی اور قتل
ہمارے معاشرے کو کس طرح پارہ پارہ کر رہے ہیں۔
साइलेंट स्क्रीम्स: कैसे यौन शोषण और हत्या
हमारे समाज को तहस-नहस कर रहे हैं।

The alarming surge in sexual violence and murder in Pakistan—particularly against women and children—has sparked national outrage and deep societal grief. Reports from human rights groups and medical professionals indicate a distressing rise in both the frequency and brutality of these crimes.
The escalating crisis of sexual abuse, femicide, and child murder is widely seen as tearing at the moral fabric of Pakistani society. Activists, journalists, and religious leaders argue that the crisis is a reflection of systemic failures, harmful cultural conditioning, and a culture of silence.

‘If a woman is killed, they say she fell, she took poison’

Introduction:
“Silent Screams” are sometimes ignored, usually for the basis of fear, shame, and more often an overall indifference. Children often do not report abuse right away because they are scared, confused, embarrassed, or afraid of more violence from the abuser. Touching upon child suffering, bolstered by hiding the truth of their act, horrifying children, folks ashamed or hypersensitive about misrepresentation. As one of the ugliest facets of our reality, child abuse — followed by sexual harassment and even death — is a recurrent global theme. These atrocities steal children’s innocence, their safety, and their future.
Raising awareness is the first step toward breaking this cycle of violence. Child experienced sexual abuse is probably one of the most painful and challenging events a parent can face.
All rape-murder cases of children are awful, but some are more awful than others. People involved in such horrific incidents do not deserve any leniency. Children deserve protection, care, and love—not fear, violence, or abuse.

What is Child Sexual Abuse?
It is any sexual activity between adults and minors or between two minors when one forces it on the other. This includes sexual touching and non-touching acts like exhibitionism, exposure to pornography,
photography of a child for sexual gratification, solicitation of a child for prostitution, voyeurism, and communication in a sexual way by phone, Internet, or face-to-face. It is a crime punishable by law that must be reported. In some disastrous cases, abuse is followed by murder in an attempt to hide the crime, resulting in the loss of innocent lives. Such incidents not only destroy the future of the victim but also leave permanent pain and trauma for families and the public.

Why Are Child Sexual Abuse and Child Murders on the Rise?
Children are innocent and unaware of the dangers around them. In childhood, Childs learn to walk, talk, move, speak, and learn about the world. Children are delicate like flowers, and men break them through
their societal indifference. Children have less power to defend themselves; that’s why Men Crush the Childs. A child cannot be expected to protect themselves from such threats.

Video Credit: Hamariweb/YouTube

The Numbers Behind the Silent Screams:
According to Sahil, an organization that works on child protection
In the years 2012-2016, a total of 17,205 cases were reported. Over 3,830 cases of child abuse were reported in newspapers in 2018,. The report documented 3,630 cases of child abuse in the first six months of 2022 and a total 4253 cases in 2022. In 2023, Sahil organization indicated 4,213 cases;
in 2024, 3364 cases; and in 2025, 3630 cases were reported. In 2026, Childs still facing horrific sexual violence.

Child Protection Laws and Support Systems in Pakistan.
- Child protection helplines (1121)
- The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2016
- Zainab Alert Response and Recovery Act, 2020
- Child protection units
- CCD Established in February 2025

“No society can call itself just or peaceful while its children live in fear and insecurity.”

Who are the Perpetrators?
Many perpetrators are known to the victims’ acquaintances, relatives, or neighbors. Most child sexual abusers are men and may be respected members of the community drawn to settings where they gain easy access to children when they are alone and away from the supervision of trusted adults. If a man has a conscience, honor, and basic human decency, he would never prey upon a child. Exploiting or harming a child is not a sign of strength; it is a reflection of moral failure, cruelty, and the complete absence of humanity.

How does Child Sexual Abuse happen?
To Know About how abuse occurs is essential for prevention. Much of child sexual abuse occurs when a child is alone, such as walking down a road by himself, alone in a house, being alone in a school building, or being left alone in places like mosques and other places. often look for opportunities where children are separated from parents, teachers, or guardians and are unable to seek immediate help. They come from all age groups, races, religions, and socioeconomic classes. Most victims know and trust their abusers. It isn’t strangers our children have to fear most. Child sexual abuse often happens when an offender takes advantage of a child’s trust, innocence, vulnerability, or lack of supervision.

The most horrific cases are highlighted.
The following are some cases that received significant media coverage and public attention.
Zainab murder case, Kasur (4-9 January 2018):
Zainab disappeared on 4 January, and her body was found five days later. Police found Zainab Ansari’s body on a rubbish dump in Kasur district near the eastern city of Lahore. Residents of the area have said the murder was the 12th such incident in a year. Police investigators said later that they had matched DNA from eight girls’ bodies, including Zainab’s, with the convicted killer, Imran Ali, 24. “The court handed down death on four counts and life imprisonment to Imran Ali in the rape and murder of the little girl, Zainab.”

Farishta Mohmand (2019, Islamabad, Pakistan)
The murder of a 10-year-old Pakistani girl who was allegedly raped. Farishta Mohmand’s body was found in woodlands near her home in the capital Islamabad.
Murder of a 7-year-old girl in Sargodha, June 22, 2026.
Muntaha Zahra Case
A 7-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered inside a grocery store after she went there to buy something. Her throat was cut, and her clothes were torn when police discovered her body.
Murder of 3-year-old girl in Karachi. 23 June-2026.
The body of Kulsoom Mohammed Qasim, who had left her home to play outside in Muslimabad Colony on Tuesday afternoon, was found stuffed in a gunny bag at a main gate of the street leading to her home near Mustafa Masjid in Muslimabad later that evening. Doctors confirmed that she was subjected to “violent rape” before being murdered.

Murder of 6-Year-Old Boy in Karachi. 8 July- 2026.
A missing six-year-old boy was found raped and murdered near Karachi’s Lea Market on 8 July 2026, Wednesday, with the police claiming to have arrested a 20-year-old suspect who happened to be a
neighbor of the victim. After allegedly killing the boy, the suspect kept the body on the rooftop
of his house. It was later thrown from the third floor into an empty plot on Tuesday night, wrapped in a gunny bag, according to the DIG. Residents of the area noticed the incident and opened the bag, discovering the body.
Hope and Solutions: A Call to Action
Change is possible in such a critical problem.
1. Strengthening laws and their strong Implementation can lower the cases.
2. Neighbors and citizens should keep their eyes open in their surroundings.
3. Parents should alert their child to the risks in the world and shield them from harm in the future. You can also tell children that people and the world are dangerous.

Conclusion
* Preventing child Sexual Harassment before it starts is possible.
* The “Silent Screams” of abused children demand our attention. Every number shows a child whose childhood has been stolen. By breaking the silence and implementing laws, we can create a safe Pakistan and a world where children spend safe lives.
* Awareness into action. Report abuse. Support survivors. Protect the innocent. The time for change is now.
* Therefore, the criminals involved in such cases should be given punishments like public hanging so that the children can be safe.
* All parents try to develop a protected environment for children free from all forms of violence, especially child sexual abuse.
* Do Not Leave Your Children Unattended. Children depend on adults for their safety and protection. Even a few moments of isolation can create opportunities for offenders to target them.

The Call for Justice and Protection
Child rights organizations, religious leaders, and activists stress that the government and the justice system must take swift, exemplary action to protect the innocent.

By Iram… 
Intermediate (Arts)

How Scolding Damages a child’s self-worth and identity?
ڈانٹ ڈپٹ بچے کی خود اعتمادی اور شناخت کو کس طرح نقصان پہنچاتی ہے؟
डांट-फटकार बच्चे के आत्म-सम्मान और पहचान को कैसे नुकसान पहुंचाती है?

“Children are like wet cement, whatever falls on them makes an impression.”
“Be mindful of the words you speak to a child, because words once spoken can never be taken back. Our words become their inner voice.”
“Words can build or break a child’s spirit.”

Introduction:
Childhood is often seen as a time of learning and growth, where making mistakes is a natural part of
development. However, the way adults respond to those mistakes plays a significant role in shaping a child’s personality.

When the approach to correction makes a child feel emotionally unsafe or undervalued, it begins to change how they see themselves. What may seem like a small moment can leave a lasting impression on a child’s mind, influencing their confidence and behavior. In today’s world, where social awareness is growing, understanding the impact of such everyday practices has become more important than ever.

Scolding damages a child’s self-worth and identity by teaching them to internalize negative message. When children are harshly yelled at, their nervous system records the experience as a threat. Instead of learning from their mistakes, they internalize the criticism, shaping an internal voice that believes they are inherently “bad” or incapable. 

1-Breakdown of Self-Respect in Children:
A child’s self-respect begins to weaken when they start feeling that their thoughts, choices, or presence do not truly matter. Instead of valuing themselves from within, they begin to depend on how others treat or respond to them.
They may slowly accept being overlooked, interrupted, or dismissed, without questioning it. Over time, this creates a mindset where the child lowers their own worth, believing they deserve less attention, respect, or appreciation.
This quiet shift does not happen suddenly, but it gradually shapes how the child sees themselves and their place in the world.

2-Decline in Confidence:
A child’s confidence fades quietly through repeated moments of fear, hesitation, and emotional discomfort. When a child experiences correction in a way that feels intense or exposing, they begin to hold themselves back. Instead of freely speaking or participating, they start thinking twice before every action.
Gradually, the child becomes over-conscious of making mistakes. Even simple situations—answering a question, trying something new, or expressing an opinion-begin to feel risky. The focus shifts from learning to avoiding embarrassment.
Shaming makes children feel that they are the problem rather than recognising they made a mistake. A child who hears, “you’re so naughty,” internalises that. They may start to believe they’re incapable of doing the right thing, leading to hopelessness or more negative behavior.

Over time, this creates a pattern where the child prefers to stay silent, avoids challenges, and depends on others to lead. Their natural curiosity and willingness to explore slowly diminish. As a result, the child may appear calm or obedient on the surface, but internally they struggle with low confidence,
hesitation, and fear of judgment, which can continue to affect their personality as they grow.

Scolding, shaming, and punishing children might seem like the quickest route to better behavior, but they often backfire. 

3-Loss of Identity:
A child’s sense of identity begins to fade when they feel the need to constantly adjust themselves to meet expectations. Instead of expressing who they truly are, they start shaping their behavior to avoid
negative reactions.
Over time, the child disconnects from their own thoughts, preferences, and emotions. They may struggle to make decisions independently or express their opinions with confidence.
As a result, the child does not fully develop a clear sense of self. They grow up feeling unsure of who they are, often relying on others to define their identity.

4-Long-Term Emotional Effects:
Emotional experiences in childhood do not simply fade-they often settle deep within a child’s inner world and continue to influence them over time.
When a child repeatedly goes through uncomfortable or distressing moments, they may begin to carry unresolved emotional weight. This can appear later as mood instability, sensitivity to criticism, or difficulty handling pressure.
As they grow older, these early experiences can shape how they respond to relationships, challenges, and even their own emotions. Without realizing it, the child may carry forward a pattern of
emotional strain and inner conflict, affecting their overall well-being in the long run.

5-Development of Fear and Anxiety:
Fear and anxiety in children often develop when their environment feels unpredictable or emotionally intense. When a child is unsure how adults will react, they begin to stay constantly alert, trying to avoid situations that might lead to discomfort.
Instead of feeling safe to explore or make mistakes, the child becomes focused on preventing negative outcomes. This ongoing state of alertness can slowly turn into anxiety, where even normal situations start to feel stressful.
Over time, the child may become overly cautious, avoid new experiences, and struggle to feel at ease—even in everyday interactions.

Children might stop misbehaving temporarily out of fear, but they don’t internalise why the behavior was wrong. Fear can lead to lying, blame-shifting, and secrecy.

6-Social Withdrawal:
When a child repeatedly feels uncomfortable or exposed, they may begin to pull away from social
interactions. Instead of engaging with others, they choose silence and distance as a way to feel safe.
This withdrawal can limit their ability to build connections, express ideas, and develop social confidence. Over time, the child may appear quiet or reserved, but internally they may be struggling with isolation and lack of belonging.

7-Damage to Parent-Child Trust and Relationship:
Parenting is all about connection. When we shame our kids, we drive a wedge between us. They pull away rather than coming to us for help. Kids want to please us, but criticism leads them to shut down or act out more.
Trust between a parent and child is built when the child feels safe, understood, and accepted. When a child is repeatedly hurt, dismissed, or not listened to, this sense of safety begins to break. The child may start to hide their feelings, avoid sharing problems, or stop seeking comfort from their parents. Instead of seeing parents as a source of support, they may see them as someone they need to be careful around.
Over time, this creates emotional distance. The relationship may still exist on the surface, but the deeper connection built on trust, openness, and comfort slowly weakens.

8-Impact on Adult Behavior and Personality:
Childhood experiences don’t just stay in the past — they quietly shape how a person behaves as an adult. A child who grows up under constant pressure may become an adult who is overly self-critical, hesitant. In relationships, they might find it hard to trust, open up, or feel emotionally secure,
because they were never fully at ease expressing themselves earlier. Over time, their personality may reflect control, fear of judgment, or a need for perfection, not because that is who they truly are, but because that is what they learned to survive.

9-Low Risk-Taking Ability:
They may prefer playing safe in life – avoiding challenges, leadership roles, or bold decisions, even when capable.

10-Sensitivity to feedback:
Even small feedback can feel overwhelming, The person may take things personally, even when no harm was intended.

11- Loss of Autonomy:
If a parent constantly overrules, controls, mocks, or punishes a child’s thoughts and decisions, the child may not develop confidence in their own judgment. They may second-guess themselves constantly, look to others for permission, or freeze when faced with choices. Even small decisions can feel loaded with fear, because independent thinking was treated as dangerous or wrong. Emotional abuse can therefore leave a person not only wounded emotionally, but unsure of their own ability to direct their life.

“A psychologist warns that saying ‘I’m disappointed in you’ damages a child’s core identity more than screaming ever could.”

12- Long term Trauma Symptoms:
For many children, parental emotional abuse is not just “hurtful” in a casual sense. It can be traumatic. The child may later experience intrusive memories, emotional flashbacks, dissociation, startle responses, chronic tension, or strong reactions to reminders of the parent’s voice, anger, or controlling behavior. These are all symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Because emotional abuse often happens repeatedly over long periods, the harm can become woven into the person’s nervous system and worldview. They may continue living as though they are in danger long after the original environment is gone.

13- Academic and Concentration Problems:
A child living under emotional abuse may struggle to focus, remember information, stay organized, or perform consistently at school. Fear, stress, low self-esteem, exhaustion, and mental preoccupation with problems at home can all interfere with learning. In some cases, the child may be highly driven but perfectionistic and terrified of failure. In other cases, they may disengage altogether because they feel hopeless or chronically overwhelmed. The emotional harm can affect how the child functions day to day in school and later in work, damaging their future opportunities.

14- Guilt and Self Blame:
 Emotionally abused children often end up blaming themselves for what is happening. Because children naturally depend on parents and want to preserve attachment to them, it can feel easier to believe “something is wrong with me” than to fully recognize that the parent is being cruel or controlling. A child may believe that if they were smarter, calmer, quieter, more obedient, less emotional, or more successful, the abuse would stop. This false sense of responsibility can last for years and become a major obstacle to healing.

15- You’re worthless:
This phrase undermines a child’s sense of self-worth and can lead to feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem. Such a statement strikes at the heart of their sense of significance and can last a lifetime.

16. You’re so stupid:
Using derogatory language belittles a child’s intelligence and erodes their confidence, hindering their ability to learn and grow. Not to mention they won’t like you!  Plus, you are giving them the language to be a bully to other kids. Instead encourage your children by saying, “mistakes are growth opportunities, and I know you can learn from them.”

17. You’re such a failure:
Labeling, in general, can be devastating and cruel. Labeling a child as a failure reinforces negative self-perception and can hinder their willingness to take risks or try new things. Rather than creating independence and a desire to try new things, you inadvertently make them dependent on you and others for their needs. Instead encourage your children by saying, “You’ve shown great resilience and determination in the face of challenges.”

18- You’re so lazy:
Again, it is a very cruel label. Using negative labels like “lazy” can demotivate a child and reinforce a fixed mindset, inhibiting their potential for personal growth and development. Ultimately, our efforts are everything. Acceptance, inclusivity, and desire are all negatively impacted, and the futility of one’s efforts has been called out. Instead encourage your children by saying, “I’ve noticed all the effort you put into your tasks, and I’m proud of you.”

19- Yelling Can Lead to Depression:
As mentioned above, while children may feel scared, upset or hurt when yelled at, verbal abuse can cause mental health issues that carry into adulthood. Many studies show a strong connection between emotional abuse and depression or long-term anxiety. These symptoms can worsen behavior and even cause self-destructive habits, like substance misuse or risk-taking behaviors.

In Conclusion:

The way a child is treated at home does not end in childhood — it becomes part of their inner world. Psychology shows that early experiences shape how a person thinks, feels, and connects with others.
When a child grows up under constant pressure, it can leave silent patterns in their mind. But when they are raised with understanding and emotional safety, they build a stronger, healthier sense of self. In the end, it is not strictness, but emotional security that shapes who a child becomes.

Teaching children with love rather than anger builds deep trust and emotional safety. When parents guide with patience instead of reacting out of frustration, children are better able to learn from their mistakes and develop healthy self-esteem, feeling valued for who they are.

Leading with love instead of anger transforms discipline from punishment into a constructive learning experience. Consider these approaches to intentional and compassionate parenting:

1- Regulate Your Own Emotions: Take a moment to pause and breathe before responding to misbehavior. Modeling emotional control teaches your children how to manage their own feelings

2- Focus on Connection Before Correction: Validate their feelings while holding firm boundaries. Children are more receptive to guidance when they feel understood and secure.

3- Prioritize Teaching Over Reacting: Use mistakes as teachable moments to discuss natural consequences and better choices, rather than relying on fear or intimidation.
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4- Encourage Open Communication: Create an environment where children feel safe discussing their struggles without the fear of harsh judgment or emotional outbursts.

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