First children’s book based on sexual abuse ‘Mera Jism Mera Hai’, written by Ashhad Ahmed Qureshi has been introduced in Pakistan.
The book provides a much-needed healthy outlook on how to identify abuse and support to minor survivors who are unable to explain their discomfort related to the issue.
Ashhad Ahmed Qureshi himself explained why he has written the book, “As a child, I was sexually abused for years by someone in my extended family. I remember how confused and helpless I had felt,” shared Ashhad.
He said; “The driving force behind the book was the countless heartbreaking stories that I had heard from friends and family or my work on the sexual assault hotline of children being sexually abused and having no access to the support they deserved and needed.”
In addition to these external stories his personal experience also added to the determination of doing something about the issue as he believes that he is among the privileged few who got the support that he needed to heal and the majority are not so lucky.
“I had so badly wanted to do something about it but I didn’t know what and I didn’t know how,” he explained by adding, “However, I was privileged that when I was able to finally disclose to my parents, but many others are not so lucky.”
The creation of this book was a necessarily arduous process because he wanted to make sure that he does justice to the subject, given its sensitivity and prevalence in our society. His work experience with the hotline helped train him to deal with the subject but he didn’t just rely on it and ended up doing his independent research as well, especially focusing on reading existing literature for children that was available in various countries and making notes on what he wanted his book to include or exclude.
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