Child abuse continues

It's unfortunate that for all the legal measures and awareness campaigns undertaken to combat abuse, children continue to suffer. Disturbing reports of children being tortured by their relatives, employers and local thugs keep pouring in, as the country's institutional failure in child protection becomes more and more evident. 

This week, news of at least three children tortured in different parts of Bangladesh surfaced in the news media. The Daily Star on Tuesday reported two of the incidents, the first, involving a domestic help, taking place right in the heart of the capital. Eleven-year-old Sabina Akhter endured unspeakable horrors in the hands of her employer who reportedly inflicted severe punishment on her. Her fault? She couldn't fry an egg. 

Nine-year-old Raju in the Rajapur upazila of Jhalokati was beaten up by three local drug addicts because they thought he had stolen their money, a charge that Raju denied. But he was tortured nonetheless, and his fingers were burnt as he was nailed to a wooden pole – a throwback to the sensational Rajon killing just two years ago. However, seventh-grader Shoikat Hawlader in Barisal was not as 'fortunate' as he died in hospital on Sunday, about two months after he was brutally tortured by local thugs on charges of stealing money. 

These incidents show the increasing vulnerability of our children and futility of the laws and institutions that are there to protect them. We think, as important as the implementation of these laws is the general awareness of our responsibility to create an environment conducive to the protection of children and their rights. No amount of law would help as long as that doesn't happen.