IN our society people can obtain certificates of innocence quickly even after committing major crimes. Some of these men elongate their beards and cut short their pants and cloaks and appear on satellite channels as respectable scholars. We have also seen some women who were involved in immoral activities assuming the title of dawa workers and giving lectures on morality. This week we have witnessed the release of an individual accused of sexually abusing children. The man was arrested for committing a big crime, but he did not spend more than two months in jail. We cannot accept this quick release after seeing video clips showing his horrendous crimes against children. We were delighted to hear the man's arrest following the circulation of the video on social media. It is shocking that the child molester is now out and appears on social media platform sporting a long beard and a shortened cloak. Even after such incidents, some people would ask: What is the reason for the beard to lose its dignity and why people do not trust bearded men? I am afraid the release of the pedophile after a quick trial would encourage people like him not only to continue abusing children but also to commit more horrible crimes. As long as this individual and others like him escape scot-free, our children are not safe. Families will feel extra pressure to protect their children from such abusers as the law does not protect them. I am still wondering how this child molester got out of prison so easily? Isn't there the public right? The whole society and nation had watched the video clips of the man sexually abusing children and they have the right to see the man punished by the court. It's good that the man has repented and asked for Allah's forgiveness and we pray that Allah accept his repentance. But the repentance and its outer expressions should not allow him to escape justice. This kind of leniency toward such horrible crimes is really frightening. Children subjected to sexual abuse would not be the same throughout the rest of their life. When such children grow up they will also engage in similar crimes. Some child-sex offenders have a history of being sexually abused when they were children. By showing leniency toward such crimes we are in fact contributing to produce a generation of pedophiles. We used to call for a law to protect children. Now we have a law but it evaporates in thin air in front of criminals without having any effect on the ground. I strongly believe that such crimes should be handled by a special team of experts and a committee should be set up to study each case separately and they should not be left to the discretion of individual interpretations. A child molester should be given psychological treatment at least before his release so that society would be safe from him. Such people should not be given the freedom to cause fear in society by carrying out more crimes against children in the absence of adequate punishment. Pedophiles cannot be cured of their mental disorder in a month or two and they need long-term treatment. In order to confront sexual abuse against children we need stricter laws. This is the least we expect from the authorities so that society feels safe. We have a good example from the UAE where the child protection law incorporates legal, moral and humanitarian articles, in addition to contents of international charters. Before concluding this article I would like to say that I was expecting a statement of condemnation from the Human Rights Commission on the release of the child molester after two months in prison, which is not enough to deter him from committing more crimes. I hope the security authorities would keep him under close surveillance as a preventive measure.
