Years ago, In a public park in karachi, I saw a bunch of kids begging. They had deformed heads…their heads were very small compared to their bodies. At that time an aunt explained to me these kids are not deformed by birth, but their parents do that to them (fix a ‘cage’ around their heads to repress growth). She said sometimes when a couple does not have any kids they make a “mannat” to Allah saying if Allah grants them a child they will deform him and make him beg for the sake of Allah…something along those lines.
Has anyone else encountered such kids begging in Pakistan? I know there is a name for them but cannot remember. Also my question is…if you have a kid and will put him up for begging…doesnt that defeat the purpose of having and wanting to raise a child? Whats the point behind it? Is it legal?
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What your aunt told you is a load of bull to put it mildly, as for an answer to the second question, helllloooooooooo.
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I've heard that its not their parents who do it, but the "peer/faqeer" whom they asked to pray for them to have child(ren) puts demand that if they get one their first child will be 'donated/trusted' to the peer/faqeer's place, and when the couple gets their first child he then is given to the faqeer/peer where they put some 'caging' then use him for begging.
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but whats the point of having a child then if you are going to give it away? HOW can someone give away their child like that? Also can the government/police take these kids and return them to rightful parents?
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Someone should deform those peer/faqeers like seriously. Gather all of them and lock em up for evermore.
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i dont know how much truth is in all this but heard that the children with deformed body are mostly kidnapped and are put to beg.
I would never let ma kid go through all that, i would rather become a beggar (hopefully there wont be any sort of these circumstances) than to make um.
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some time ago I read about a a place in Pakistan where there was a shrine set up to a "baba" and ladies would go there and pray for children, the people who worked for the "baba" shrine would tell them that we promise you'll have a child but teh first one must be given to us... otehrwise you'll have no more and it'll die young
or something to that effect, I dont remember the facts but your statement about deformed children reminds me that thats what tehy allegedly did, used a mold to change there features into a more "rat" like face
I thnk rats were worshipped... or thought highly of
I dont remember, I think the article was in a Marie Clair magazine about two years or so ago
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Your aunt is reading too many Khatoon/Jassosi Digests.
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"shadole shah ki choi"
something along those lines
*sigh
agrees with catty
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lazy daisy: yes i remember she said something about their faces like rats shudders!
pakora: what do u mean? is that not true?
nia: is that what they're called?
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Your aunt was right but mixing two different things. I think the kids you are talking about are shah daula ke chuhay. Shah daula's mazar is somewhere near balkasar, if I am not wrong. Although it is a rare genetic deformity, some of these chuhas are the work of peer faqeers.
And yes, in Pakistan there are a lot of kids who were born with mannat/ hajat and to fulfill the mannat some kids end up on mazars. A lot of madrassa kids are the ones who are sent there by the parents to fulfill the mannat that they will have the kid to hifz quran. I had a friend who would wear the faqeer chola on a certain day of the islamic year and go from house to house with a kshkol, to ful fill his parents mannat.
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Rat children. They’re also called shahdole shah deh chuweh.
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wow. thanks for the article... and the replies.
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This is from the article:
- 'The minister responsible, Raja Zafar-ul-Haq promised further government action. *"We will certainly go after these people" he says, "they are criminals and if you can give me any idea as to their whereabouts then we can ask the police to investigate. It's a crime against humanity." * But what is really required is a full-blown investigation into this long-running mystery. Many experts believe the time has come to push religious sensitivities aside and for the government to take decisive action. *
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basically, they are selling kids under the guise of peer fakeeri....
The pics are disturbing.
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that would be correct .. some shah kay choohay
they put metal bowls around their heads so they cant grow
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:(