KARACHI: Osman Khalid Butt is using his platform as a popular actor to call for the implementation of child labour laws in Pakistan.
Osman was speaking about the case of Zohra Shah, an 8-year-old who was beaten to death by her employers for accidentally releasing caged birds. The young girl had bruises and semi healed wounds on her body, meaning she was often beaten up and there was also evidence of child abuse. The perpetrators have been in arrested in Rawalpindi
Many celebrities were quick to denounce the incident and call for justice. In a series of tweets, Osman went beyond the usual generic condemnation and detailed what we need to do to make sure that we never see a case like Zohra Shah again.
“If we want change beyond #JusticeForZohraShah, we need to raise our collective voice to amend our child labour laws,” he said, compete with links to understand our country’s laws regarding the matter.
And did he lie? Absolutely not. It’s not enough anymore to simply call out or express sympathy. It’s something, but not enough. Not when child labour is rampant, when high-handedness of employers is rampant, when murder and sexual abuse is rampant.
Even if someone has never laid a finger on their underaged domestic staff – IT’S STILL CHILD ABUSE.
Osman went on to say, “Child labour is child abuse. We cannot have another case like Zohra Shah. We cannot let our outrage to fade till our laws are amended to protect the rights of children.” He added that if you know anyone in your family and friend circle who employed underaged people at their homes or workplaces, call them out.
He also urged people to educate themselves on child labour laws and to contribute to causes fighting for the rights of children.
