Dhaka, Aug 8 (IANS) Amid revelations of Pakistani-origin British men being implicated in grooming gang scandals involving sexual exploitation of children across major cities in the United Kingdom, Islamabad cannot continue to dismiss external criticism as prejudice while avoiding difficult questions about child protection, political accountability and systemic violence against women, a report has stated.
The reopening of grooming gangs investigations in the United Kingdom — brought into focus by the Casey Review’s exposure of decades of institutional negligence – has prompted an uncomfortable reckoning.
Public scrutiny has intensified amid renewed efforts to deport convicted Rochdale grooming gang ringleader and child rapist Shabir Ahmed to Pakistan, coupled with revelations that former Pakistani state minister Rukhsar Ahmed, under active UK investigation over historical child sexual abuse and trafficking, was recently elected as a lawmaker to the so-called Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) legislative Assembly, according to a report in Bangladesh’s ‘Daily Sun’ newspaper.
“These developments concern far more than Britain and Pakistan; they directly impact the wider South Asian diaspora. Every such scandal deepens public suspicion toward communities that have neither been involved in nor condoned these crimes. British Bangladeshis, Indians, Sri Lankans and other South Asians frequently become collateral damage when distinct communities are flattened under the convenient, misleading label of ‘South Asian.’ This is profoundly unjust,” the report detailed.
“However, confronting this injustice requires acknowledging an equally uncomfortable reality: successive Pakistani governments and influential establishments have long struggled to confront the structural conditions that enable sexual violence,” it added.
According to the report, Pakistan continues to witness alarming levels of rape, child abuse, honour killings, and domestic violence, with survivors confronting heavy social stigma, intimidation, weak investigations, and “notoriously” low conviction rates.
It added that statements by public figures in Pakistan that blame women’s clothing, behaviour or freedom of movement for sexual violence send a deeply damaging message. Such narratives divert responsibility from perpetrators and unfairly place the burden on victims.
“Patriarchal notions of ‘honour’ dictate that women safeguard family reputation through modesty and obedience, while male misconduct is frequently rationalised or overlooked. Community silence and institutional inertia often shield perpetrators,” the Daily Sun mentioned.
The report observed that legitimate criticism of these systemic problems is too often dismissed as “anti-Pakistan” propaganda or “Islamophobia”. Such reflexive defensiveness has itself become a major impediment to meaningful reform.
Stressing that Britain’s own experience demonstrated the dangers of allowing such a mindset to persist, the report said, “The grooming gangs scandal persisted for decades not due to a lack of evidence, but because institutions—fearful of accusations of racism or adverse political sensitivities—repeatedly looked the other way. When national pride or institutional reputation takes precedence over protecting children, impunity flourishes.”
–IANS
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