Sana Mir urges measures to protect children in sports

Former Pakistan Women Cricket captain Sana Mir has urged authorities to ensure child protection in sports, after the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in Kasur triggered an outcry of protest and demands for justice against the culprits.

“I request all child protection commissions formed to make sure that kids in sports are protected also. Child protection law to be made mandatory for all sports boards, childhandlers, organisers, clubs, coaches, doctors, trainers etc #JusticeForZainab #ChildrensRights,” Mir tweeted on Thursday.

The all-rounder went on to say that children in sports mostly come from some of the most vulnerable areas of the country. “Child Protection has to be dealt with same seriousness in sports if not more as anti corruption and anti doping,” she added.

The Kasur tragedy triggered a countrywide movement for justice with the hashtag #JusticeForZainab, as the civil society rallied in cities and towns across the country demanding swift action against the culprit and the need to ensure implementation of child abuse laws.

Pakistan criminalised child sexual abuse for the first time in 2016 after media unearthed a paedophilia scandal in the infamous city of Kasur in 2015.

But with sex education nonexistent in the country, experts fear that an untold number of abuse cases continue to go unreported.