Special Attention Required for Women and Children

Extremely Important Information About Child Adoption

This is for the attention of everyone, please spread the message! It is the most grave issue of the hour... children from the disaster hit areas are going MISSING. Due to the chaos and confusion, it is hard to keep track of children whose families are either missing or dead. Traffickers are taking full advantage of this situation.

Things to do and know:

• Adoption has been BANNED by the goverment for the time being so anyone who is doing so is doing it ILLEGALLY
• No individuals can OFFER children brought in from those areas up for adoption
• No one can re-locate the children from their areas without official permission from the goverment
• The goverment is giving the names of ORGANISATIONS in the media who have been asked to supervise and take care of the children for the time being - so if you don't know, CHECK with any TV channel, newspaper etc
• If you are recieving any messages from individuals saying that they have kids up for adoption, please inform the authorities
• Please spread some instructions for those who are volunteering in the affected areas. Tell them to keep a count and track of children who are unaccompanied. Also tell them to educate children not to leave their area with anyone but officials or their family

Please pass this message around...

Women and Children - Worst Victims

As efforts are being made to coordinate and target the otherwise haphazard and disarrayed relief operation for optimal and equitable benefits to all affected by the deadly earthquake that shook six district of NWFP and almost all of Azad Kashmir, there is an urgent need to address the specific issues of women and children who were the worst hit in the catastrophe.

Although the gender analysis of the impact of the disaster will take time, there clearly are more women and children who were killed in the earthquake. Similarly, their number among the injured appears very high. One obvious explanation for greater loss among women and children is perhaps the gender role ideology, which places women in domestic roles. Most of the women were at home at the time of the earthquake, while children were in schools. Due to the concept of purdah and segregation, women are often reluctant to rush out of their homes, increasing their vulnerability. Being the worst victims, women and children will be the most vulnerable in the post-disaster period with regard to their very survival. Since their mobility is restricted amid a value system that confines them to the private sphere, they may not be able to benefit from the rescue and relief operation currently underway. It is therefore unsurprising to see long queues of men receiving relief goods in areas, particularly in NWFP, where traditions and religion determine the conduct of women.

Even in this time of crisis, women are hardly seen out in public. They are still confined in inaccessible clusters on mountain terraces hidden from the eyes of relief operations, waiting for food, medical care, water, and shelter. Similarly, a large number of children may have been rendered family-less in the calamity, who are now at risk of exploitation. There already are reports that people are looking for such children for adoptions. However, as noble as the cause may be, there will certainly be no record of such adoption, and no guarantee that these children do not end up as domestic workers. Such chaos also provides an ideal environment for child traffickers, who are able to act will amid an absent state.

It is against this backdrop that special focus is needed to address the specific issue of women and children in order to save them from further agony. The relief operators must ensure that their hard work is benefiting women and children. A gender sensitive approach to the relief operation is what is needed. The UN agencies as well as the government can jointly issue guidelines to relief operators on the gender aspects of their work to make sure women do not stay out of the loop. Similarly, the law enforcement agencies should make certain that the orphaned children are not whisked away by rings of exploiters, although it will be a difficult task to put in place. Child protection systems amid massive chaos have to be organized and monitored. Perhaps with the involvement of the community, localized shelters for orphaned children can be established. Such measures will only help reduce the long-term adverse effects of the disaster and will alleviate the miseries and trauma of its worst victims.

Liaqat Ali

Child Adoption - URGENT INFORMATION

Please spread the news.

The Pakistan Government has stated that no children will be adopted and that it is their responsibility to take care of the orphans and they WILL do so. Spoke to a PIMS volunteer early this morning in Islamabad who said they are currently unsure of the status.

She has just sent an SMS saying that UNICEF has confirmed that no children are to be adopted.