Experts slam victimisation of mentally challenged girl
-AFP File Photo
KARACHI: As the news of the Christian girl Rifta and her ordeal continues to make headlines, what comes to the fore is a sick picture of double victimisation of an individual, first as a religious minority and secondly as a mentally handicapped human being in a society where there is little understanding of mental illnesses.
Currently, the Down syndrome sufferer is being held in the Adiyala Jail for a judicial remand under charges of blasphemy and any progress in the case will be made only after Eid. While voices are being raised as to how a fair trial must be conducted under the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000, what is being overlooked is the need for sanity to prevail.
The Bahawalpur case where a malang was killed by over 2000 ‘sane’ people after being accused of blasphemy and the case of this girl show the apathy of our society. So far, there has been no medico-legal examination of the girl to determine her mental health.
Earlier, under 1912 Act, a person could be held for 10-30 days before an inquiry began but after the Mental Health Ordinance 2001, a mentally unstable person could not be detained for more than 72 hours and it was mandatory to carry out psychiatric evaluation within that period, an MLO working in a public hospital in Lahore said.
Till 2001, Pakistan followed the Lunacy Act 1912, the mental health law that was introduced in India, which referred to a person with mental illness as ‘idiot of unsound mind’ or ‘lunatic’. However, in 2001, things improved significantly when the Lunacy Act 1912 was repealed and replaced with the Mental Health Ordinance 2001 (MHO 2001) by Pervez Musharraf.
The ordinance offered a more humane outlook towards individuals with psychological disorders and mental handicaps and allowed them to be given a fair chance. However, after the 18th Amendment, the Federal Mental Health Authority was dissolved and MHO 2001 lapsed. So far, none of the provinces, with the exception of Sindh, has made any effort to take up this issue.
Human rights lawyer Zia Awan agreed that the 2001 ordinance would have offered a more sensible way out in this case.
“If you go by the law, then Section 82 (of) Pakistan Penal Code says that ‘nothing is an offence which is done by a child under seven’ while in Section 83, a judge can decide to ignore the age stated in Section 82, raising it to 12 years, in the case of a child who has not attained sufficient maturity of understanding,” Mr Awan explained.
“At the moment, it is important that a psychiatric evaluation is carried out to determine the extent of her mental illness. This girl might have a mental age of a 3-year-old and we have to keep this in mind when doling out a judgment,” he said.
He added that if the MHO 2001 was there, the girl would not have been sent to the jail and would rather have been sent to a ‘facility equipped to take care of her needs’.
Commenting on the situation, Dr Haroon Ahmed, president of the Pakistan Association of Mental Health, said: “There are so many loopholes in our legal system and usually it’s the innocent that gets caught. “So far, we do not have clear-cut definitions of mental illness and when it comes to legislation, mental health service providers are excluded. Currently, no laws address civil or criminal liability of a person suffering from mental illness.”
He said the Pakistani society was already stifling with the ‘mob justice mentality providing a clear reflection of this decay’. “The charges of blasphemy are very serious but how do you determine who is sane and who is not? How do you deal with a schizophrenic person who claims to be a divine entity? Do you treat him for his illness or do you ‘punish’ him?”
So now it has been confrmed that the Imam of the local mosque Khalid Chisti has been arrested for planting the evidence! (and desecrating a Quran!) to help in getting Christians expelled from his area.
What punishment should we expect to see now?
Our cowardly supreme court will not take any suo moto notice against this atrocity. Their only role appears to be of an opposition party against the federal govt. Shame on our courts and out judges.
Dear Dawn i wanted to share my recent Experience which i had on Eid, I was going by a Mosque and Mosque were preaching abt Islam…. they were telling to people they are blessed by Allah bcoz they are born in a Muslim family…
I feel according to my knowledge Allah has made us humans but we have made religion like Islam and Hinduism.
But we are fool who are listening to them. .. and fighting and killing each other…. No religion allow to kill people…
First of all she is underage. She is reported to be 11 years old. And hence only a child. And if this is not enough to evoke compassion in the hard hearts of the wild beasts who masquerade asguardians of Islam then please also note that she is reportedly suffering from Down's Syndrome. Her place is in a hospital where she should be cared for. Where are her parents? Frightened out of their wits and in hiding to escape a lynch mob? I wouldn't blame them.
To these Beasts: Think for a moment what if it were your 11 year old daughter suffering from a mental disease and being held in a prison . Muslims? You are not fit to be called humans. A Pakistani Abroad
Ashamed to be Pakistani…….God help us
Complete ashamed to be Pakistani right now.
Could we simply get HItler back to life and install him in Pakistan so that he can clean up this mess from our country! Kill the "mullah" and all resident arabs (including Taliban) in Pakistan with their entire genetic tree so that this madness can come to an end!
What role does Government play in this? Where is Government? What taking them this long to free this little girl? They are all afraid of religious terrorist and there is no leadership left in Pakistan.
Dude stop with ignorant comments. If you have been keeping up with recent news current govt has lost its minister and governor in order to fight extremism. Even when they arrest these extremists, Pakistani courts release these evil people.
Why make statements, lets do something…..
There are always such senseless groups or mobs in every society be it US, Europoe, China or India. So Pakistan is not unique. What we do not have is efficient governance. Good governance would taking swift actions and countermeasures to control the situation. Not let it become shameful story for the nation.
Somebody please help this innocent young girl.
I am Indian, thinking of visiting and witnessing Pakistan for the culturally rich and civilization once in my lifetime. I love the civilization in Sindh region of Pakistan, at least i wanted to visit the great museums there. Now i have to think many times before arriving Pakistan.
I am Pakistani and love my Indian brothers. My advise to you is that don’t even think about this. Visit one of the open minded Pakistani family and both parties will learn from each others
Where is Supreme Court and Chief Justice now. CJ should jump in and save one life, otherwise the result will be the same as people burnt one person some months ago. These suo moto action should not be only against government.
Jaane Kub Kaun Kise Yahaan Kaafir Keh De
Shehar Ka Shehar Musalman Hua Phirta Hai
wah wah wah…..blessings on the writer who composed this line….
Army is the root cause of evil in the country. Bureaucrats,politicians or mullah they are all under her control.