‘Stop Child Abuse is part of the Mein Bhi movement’

This weekend, Frieha Altaf – under the umbrella of ‘Catwalk Cares’ – curated a conference that addressed one of the most haranguing issues to plague society today and threatens to destroy generations to come because of the physical and psychological impact it has on children. The conference, titled Stop Child Abuse, brought on board activists, health experts, government officials and actors to talk about the issue, which is prevalent in society and how it can be prevented and dealt with.“We tell our children that there are no monsters but we’re lying to them,” said Shaniera Akram, one of the most socially active influencers out there. “There are monsters, not just here in Pakistan but all over the world. The best thing we can do is talk about it and we are talking about it at our dinner tables, with our families and with our children and it is now an open subject. I’m feeling a little confident today, coming out of this conference and knowing that in the future we’ll be able to save a lot more lives than we have been doing.” On the panel was an interesting and influential mix of people including Dr Sheena Hadi of Aahung, Dr Manizeh Bano of Sahil (both being NGOs set up to deal with the crises), former Federal Information Minister Javed Jabbar, humanitarian and singer Shehzad Roy, Rabiya Javeri, secretary of the ministry of human rights, Sarwat Gillani, Maria Wasti and many more.“We need to educate our children about sexual predators. We’ve created taboos around the subject and even if something happens we tend to hush it up and not speak about it, which then affects their lives,” Sheheryar Munawar spoke. “I would love to be part of this campaign, to create awareness around the subject.”Ahsan Khan, who played a vile pedophile in drama serial Udaari (which was a game changer, no doubt), was very vocal about the role television has played in creating awareness on the subject.“I think television has really taken the conversation forward and I don’t think there can be a better way to spread awareness on child abuse,” he said. “Udaari played a huge role, not in spreading awareness in Pakistan, but the entire world and people started talking about sexual abuse after watching that drama.”Drama serials like Meri Guriya and Haiwaan furthered that narrative.At the conference, the conversation began with the fact that change had to start at home and parents needed to have conversations on how children could protect themselves. Windows of communication had to stay open and allow a climate of trust and kindness. And when an offence was committed, then action had to be taken to ensure it didn’t scar the child and her/his loved ones.“This is a very sensitive and painful topic because not just the child is affected but his family and everyone associated with his life is affected,” Maria Wasti aptly said. “It impacts generations and statistics show that children who have been abused don’t just grow up as abused individuals but a lot of them become abusers too. This problem is like a parasite that is eating away at society and we have to acknowledge it before we can even think about fixing it. And the cure has to be a collective effort, with parents, schools and the government involvement. As individuals we have to begin at home and do whatever we can do.”Frieha Altaf, CEO Catwalk Event Management & Productions, had organized the conference under the aegis of Catwalk Cares, the CSR Division of her company. Two years ago she had campaigned against sexual harassment, in a segment of the Lux Style Awards titled Mein Bhi; it was a local adaptation of the Me Too movement and found support in the industry. This conference, Stop Child Abuse, was the first in a series of what she hopes will become a movement.“There’s misconception about Mein Bhi and what it was all about,” Frieha explained in a conversation with Instep. “It literally translated from Me Too but it was about sexual harassment as well as child abuse. It started with the little girl Zainab and that’s why – at the LSAs – we didn’t just have Nahid Siddiqui and Mahira Khan open the show with ‘Bol Kay Lab Azaad Hain Tere’ we also had Ahsan Khan and then a performance by children who were demanding protection in society; that was all about child abuse. The finale was about numerous subjects. So the Stop Child Abuse conference is also part of the Mein Bhi movement. This is just a start.”

from The News International - Instep Today https://ift.tt/2LrH5fc