ISLAMABAD: The government and the opposition in the National Assembly on Friday demanded exemplary punishment for the killer of Zainab, inclusion of chapters of sexual harassment in curriculum of schools and madressahs for awareness among children.

The lower house of parliament, which was adjourned till 4pm on Monday, will continue its debate on the tragic incident of Kasur to pass a unanimous resolution for taking tough measures to prevent such incidents in future.

Speaking on the floor of the house, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb stressed the need for incorporating specific chapters in the curriculum to provide awareness to children regarding sexual abuses.

“After the 18th Constitution Amendment, education is now a provincial subject, but unfortunately not a single provincial government has made any effort to provide such awareness to children,” she regretted.

She said the resolution being prepared by the NA on Zainab’s issue would be ineffective unless it demanded inclusion of specific chapters in the curriculum across the country.

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah said the killing of Zainab could have been avoided, had timely action been taken against those culprits who had been involved in child molestation in the past in the area.

He said that more than 720 such cases had been reported in Punjab over the last three years, but the provincial government had failed to arrest any of the killers and rapists. He demanded that serial rapists and killers involved in such horrible acts such as what happened with innocent Zainab should be hanged at public places and such incidents should also be declared acts of terrorism.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Shireen Mazari said that no political party should do politics on the sensitive issue of tragic death of Zainab. She said the nation would not rest unless the culprit involved in the rape and murder of Zainab was given exemplary punishment.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl MNA Naeema Kishwar said the Kasur-like incident would continue to take place in the country unless Islamic laws were enforced.

“The maximum punishment for a rapist in case of sexual assault is life-imprisonment and if the culprit even murders his victim, the punishment will stay the same, but under the Islamic laws, such culprits are hanged or stoned to death,” she said.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2018