Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Islamabad (Agenzia Fides) - In Pakistan the worst form of child slavery in the name of religious tradition has become common practice. In the village there is no law nor authority to protect these slaves, mentally retarded, from their cruel masters and the mafia that forces them to beg. In an exposure on behalf of the Asian Human Rights Commission it reads that the children, besides suffering the oppression of the local gangsters, are smuggled in the United Arab Emirates every year (UAE) to work as camel jockeys. According to local sources, the data collected between 2002 and 2010 recorded that about 1,000 children brought to the UAE are from areas of southern Punjab and northern Sindh, mostly from Rahim Yar Khan, a suburb area of Punjab . Until a couple of years ago, Pakistan was considered the hub of child smuggling to the UAE, thanks to the efforts of organizations, the international NGOs and media to protect human rights, in June 2010 the government brought back home the last Pakistani child slave in the UAE.
Within the religious tradition of the Asian countries it is important to note the presence of groups associated with the shrine dedicated to Pir Shah Daula in Gujrat, of the Suhrawardi school of thought. During the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb, Shah Daula had the power to punish the parents with microencephalitic children belonging to the shrines in different parts of the country, called "Rats of Shah Daula. According to ancient tradition, barren women who came to pray at the Sufi shrine of Shah Daula, became fertile, provided that their firstborn would be donated to the shrine as an oblate. These children are then disfigured and sold by the guardians of the shrine to make them beg. We are talking about 20 000 children, mostly from Punjab and Gujarat. According to experts and activist groups we need a vigorous government action for the protection of human rights in the country against these inhuman acts that are still being perpetrated on the poor. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 06/05/2011)
