NEWS stories of newborns thrown on rubbish heaps in plastic bags no longer seem to elicit sustained interest or discussion in Pakistan. Usually, there is a flicker of momentary interest in the story that quickly fades into the archival folds of the newspapers. After this, business as usual resumes its tight hold.

From a cursory reading of such stories one thing stand out: most of the babies thrown onto rubbish heaps are found dead, after being mauled by stray dogs. In very rare cases are they saved following a cry from the rubbish heap or a chance discovery of the baby. This is a form of infanticide that is not often discussed openly.

Fortunately, there are a few welfare organisations around to deal with a matter of huge importance, though it remains unacknowledged and shrouded in issues of morality and religiosity. The Edhi Foundation is one of the few welfare organisations struggling to piece together a response to this practice and the lack of governmental action.

Not even babies are spared society’s criminal behaviour.

To prevent children from meeting this fate, the foundation has for long now designated special cots where babies intended for the rubbish heap can be safely and quietly left, with no questions asked.

As always, there are no reliable figures available to determine the extent of the problem. Despite the absence of systematic data, there is a semi-consensus in the media and among welfare organisations that the extent of the problem is perhaps growing. According to news reports, the number grew from 890 infant deaths in 2008 to 1,210 in 2010. In 2011, in Karachi alone 70 children were found dead on rubbish heaps.

In the absence of a definitive study on the subject, various reasons are routinely given for the surging phenomenon. These reasons range from poverty, the baby’s gender, rape and out-of-wedlock births. The toxic brew of the lack of contraceptive use and family planning plays its part too. These factors largely determine whether a baby is wanted or unwanted which is a crucial axis upon which the retention or abandonment of the baby is decided.

Sex is also a major determinant in this decision calculus. Most of the babies discovered in the rubbish heaps are girls. And when the sex of the baby intersects with poverty then baby girls are more than likely to be slated for infanticide. Extreme poverty in itself, probably irrespective of the sex of the baby, constitutes a major contributory factor to the rise in throwaway babies.

Rape, not much discussed, is another crucial determinant as it leads to unwanted pregnancies with further stigma of rape attached. Out-of-wedlock births which result from accidental pregnancies form another important determinant. The love child, where social attitudes are fixed and immutable, enjoys little space in our society as opposed to other societies The price of being branded illegitimate often draws extremely harsh reaction.

There have been some reported instances of mosque leaders supporting the idea of killing babies placed in the vicinity of the mosque as ‘compassion’. The tag of illegitimacy dissolves the core of any compassionate response.

Despite the sense of a growing crisis, there is an utter lack of governmental engagement with the issue. As a result, the problem has been largely shoved onto the struggling and stretched NGOs. In most Muslim countries, broadly similar attitudes regarding abandoned or throwaway children persist. Yet, unlike Pakistan, some Muslim countries furnish examples of vigorous governmental action in this social policy area. In Tunisia, mothers giving birth to babies out of wedlock are provided social assistance in the hospitals. The abandoned babies are put up for adoption through a state-directed system.

Similarly, babies are given a parental name if the identity of the father is disclosed or a new one where the name of the father is not known, thus enabling them to participate in social and economic life in future.

More importantly, abortion is legalised in Tunisia. This prevents unwanted pregnancies which is the major cause of the abandonment of babies. In addition, well-integrated family planning systems help in limiting the size of the family.

Jordan, in its report submitted to the UN, shows a similar system in place in line with the rights of the child. Yet in Pakistan no government action has been forthcoming. The tag of illegitimacy is used by the state to duck its responsibility of caring for abandoned babies. This neglect and callousness contribute to a situation where the practice becomes ‘normalised’.

The chance of babies being saved can be further improved by easing adoption laws which are onerous in Pakistan. Above all, there needs to be a joint approach by the government and NGOs to tackle this problem at all levels — from rectifying attitudes towards abandoned babies to implementing social assistance programmes that lead to innocent babies graduating to full citizenship.

The writer is a development consultant and policy analyst.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2016