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There are
many years in Azra Farheen's life that she will never forget in a hurry-even
if she wants too. They are the years of physical and mental abuse her
family suffered at the mercy of her husband, and the effect it had on
her children. Her daughter blamed her for the abuse; her son wet his bed
for 14 years, and became wayward, playing truant and committing minor
crimes. The youngest son, who was six years old when they finally left
home, denies that part of his life exists and never wants to see his father
again.
On one occasion they tried to escape, but the husband threatened to
douse them with petrol and set them alight. "No one in the community
suspected or acknowledged the horror," Farheen recalls, "and
I felt very isolated. His family would not hear it; they told me to be
an obedient wife. I feared depriving my children of a father, and the
loss of izzat that would befall us if I rocked the boat. I also feared
for the marriage prospects of my daughter and siblings."
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| STAR CAST: TV star Nina Wadia with Nitin (above)
and Jemima Khan offer support |
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| "We want to make
sure that children who are harmed by adults know that this is wrong."
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"Had a helpline been available at that time, I might have used it,"
she said, while addressing the gathering at the launch of the the National
Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children's (NSPCC) Asian Child Protection
Helpline. Like Farheen and her children, there are many other victims
of domestic violence who feel they have nowhere to turn to for support.
And NSPCC is attempting to redress the problem. It's a cause which is
finding a lot of support even from Asian celebrities like film director
Shekhar Kapur, Imran Khan's wife Jemima, singer Shahin Badar and musician
Johnny Kalsi, who are among those lending their profile through press
and TV ads to the helpline.
"What we feel strongly about at NSPCC is that every child deserves
to have someone they can turn to," says Mary Marsh, chief executive
of the NSPCC. "It is also a service for adults with concerns about
a child. We are determined to have a society in which cruelty and abuse
to children is not tolerated at all."
NSPCC supports over 285 projects, including those targeting Asians in
London, Manchester, Bradford and the Midlands, where there is a high population
of ethnic minorities. What makes this new helpline unique is that it is
accessible nationwide and is free for all South Asian communities.
The new helpline will be staffed by child protection officers who are
fluent in various Indian languages such as Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu
and Bengali. They will provide information, advice and counselling on
child welfare and protection.
The launch was aptly held at the Bethnal Green Museum Of Childhood.
In the hall filled with noise and laughter of pre-school children exploring
the exhibits, Marsh poignantly talked about the recent deaths of Anna
Climbie and Lauren Wright, both victims of child abuse.
Muhammad Haneef, a social worker with local authorities for the past
10 years, is manager of the new helpline and has been instrumental in
its launch. "We learnt from previous experience that Asians were
not accessing the NSPCC service for two reasons: one, where only English
was spoken and the other partly for cultural reasons. When we have had
qualified Asian workers, people do access the service if they are convinced
their needs are going to be understood and in a language they understand."
Among the concerns the officers manning the phonelines face are bullying,
racial harassment, sexual abuse and domestic violence. Says Marsh, "We
want to make sure that children who are being harmed by adults know that
this is wrong, and this is something they should be able to get help to
get stopped. Above all, we want that abuse shouldn't happen in the first
place."
Diana Hayden, a former Miss World who lends her support to child welfare
charities, lauded her fellow supporters. "It is good to see Asian
celebrities using their positions in a positive way," she says. "And
why not? They lose nothing by doing so."
NSPCC Child Protection Helpline: 0800 096 7719
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CURRENT
ISSUE NOV 26, 2001
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