Child Begging – Newspaper – DAWN.COM

CHILD begging, the ugliest form of child labour, is a bane to society. Ravaged by disease, crime, exploitation and drug abuse, hundreds of impoverished children crowd the intersections and street corners of Karachi. The Sindh Child Protection Authority recently informed the Sindh Assembly that it was planning an anti-child begging campaign in collaboration with the provincial police to rescue these children. The Minister of Social Welfare said that organised begging was a multi-million rupee racket and a complicated scourge to eradicate. But the government has a lot of explaining to do. First, despite begging being illegal in Pakistan with up to three years in prison for beggars and parents of child beggars, what is driving the menace? Second, while several campaigns have failed due to lack of comprehensive data, we continue to formulate policies and initiatives based on guesswork.

The Asian Human Rights Commission estimates that about 2.5 to 11% of Pakistan’s population engages in begging; 1.2 million children live on the streets of our urban centers. Therefore, it is time to adopt a multi-dimensional rescue and rehabilitation model that addresses the major drivers—poverty, climate crises, domestic violence, addiction, lack of education and unemployment—for the rising number of child beggars. Beggars are an outcast social group; more than 90% of street children are sexually exploited. Authorities, in collaboration with NGOs, health and education experts, should establish localized monitoring mechanisms through Child Protection Units in urban and rural areas with trained medical, security and counseling personnel. These should serve as focal points for safety and shelter for helpless families and children. Child beggars are not the same as destitute minors and orphans. Emotionally neglected and deprived of food, shelter, education and clothing, they are commodities in the hands of a mafia. Often their psychosocial growth is stunted and they become addicted or mentally ill. Every child trapped in poverty or a criminal network must be cured for a prosperous society.

Published in Dawn, September 15, 2024