Newsweek has an article on a new, abuse-themed coloring book for children being distributed by the Archdiocese of New York of the Roman Catholic Church.
I wrote about the brewing scandal of abuse in Muslim circles, whether by religious teachers or family/community members, awhile ago and this drives it home again. I hope we can all learn from both the horror of the abuse scandals that rocked the Catholic Church, hurt so many children, and alienated so many practitioners, as well as from the proactive way some dioceses are beginning to deal with the issue.
Just because someone wears religious garb - or is a family or friend - doesn’t mean that they should be allowed to be alone, unsupervised and unrestricted, with your child.
I have a friend who works for a Pakistani organization that makes storybooks for children on this issue - specifically on good/bad touches and protecting their bodies - in a culturally- and religiously-sensitive way.
It’s available in both English and Urdu and is appropriate for ages 4 and up. Drop me an e-mail if you’d like a copy and I’ll get in touch with her. I’ve read it to my niece and nephew who are over 4, and it made the subject non-threatening and easier to broach.
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December 5, 2007 at 6:28 pm
a.
wow - painful but important issues… I am glad to learn that there’s an effort to educate children about this back home too. I don’t have children yet, but I would like to know more about the pakistani initiative for my general knowledge if possible. Is there a website or other details (name of series, publisher, retailers where they are available, name of author) that you can provide, please?
Hope you’re doing well!
December 6, 2007 at 3:20 am
Achelois
I would definitely like to secure a copy of the book. Thanks for this post!
December 6, 2007 at 11:52 am
Baraka
Salaam a. & Suroor!
I contacted my friend and she said you can e-mail them to order the book.
The book is called “Its My Body with Tinkoo and Tina” (for children aged 4-11 years - available in English or Urdu).
And the contact information is:
House 258, Street 17, F-10/2, Islamabad 44000
Tel: (051) 221-5368
E-mail: aangan@mail.comsats.net.pk or aangan@rozan.org
I worked at another organization addressing CSA when I lived in Pakistan in the late 90s called Sahil, and the resistance to discussing the issue was very strong.
Parents thought that by telling their children about their bodies they would sexualize them, so it was better to keep them in the dark. Plus, there was a widespread myth that only strangers who kidnapped children were capable of abuse when in fact it is the people who have regular, unrestricted and unsupervised contact with children who have more opportunity to do so.
A very important issue - and one that I hope more parents and adults generally will take the time to educate themselves about. Thanks for taking the lead!
Warmly,
Baraka
December 6, 2007 at 6:50 pm
aisha
wow. This does need to be addressed. Its sad but it does. I have three friends sexually molested by maulvis. Each girl was under 10 when it happened and EACH girl had it happen when she was with the maulvi to learn Quran. One girl’s abuse happened for so long that she is so traumatized she cannot bring herself to learn to read the Quran in arabic…. its so heartbreaking. So in some ways the cartoon seems silly perhaps, but its the turth. Unfortunately the Muslim community is so quiet about these issues (as are most other religious comunities) so… its an issue among others that will slowly be resolved…
December 7, 2007 at 6:49 am
Achelois
Thanks Baraka!
December 7, 2007 at 11:33 am
a.
oh, reading Aisha’s comment above was heartbreaking…it’s so hard to stomach these things. The zulm human beings wreak on each other is so horrifying … I have nothing but sympathy and respect for the survivors of abuse.
Thanks for the resources Baraka and Juma mubarak to all your readers.
December 7, 2007 at 11:43 pm
UmmFarouq
Denial ain’t a river in Egypt, as they say!
To continue to ignore these problems among Muslims is a grave error. It happens in Jordan, it happens in Beirut, it happens in darkly tinted windows of huge SUVs in Saudi Arabia. My husband has told me stories from his childhood of close calls that he had growing up in Kuwait, but alhamdulillah escaped from. The determination to claim that this stuff doesn’t happen is one of the largest forms of ignorance plaguing us. As ugly and horrifying as it is, the realities must be faced.
Let us all educate ourselves and our children about these issues. Yes, we can teach them about their bodies and how to guard them without going overboard. We can teach them that every Tom, Dick, and Yousef out there with a beard is not an “Uncle.” We have to teach them about the circle of trust and who belongs in it.
May Allah make it easy on us.
December 8, 2007 at 6:43 am
Abdur Rahman
Salaams Baraka,
Jazak Allah for this important post. I’d be interested in finding out more about the books you refer to.
Abdur Rahman