CHILD sexual abuse is rampant in Pakistan – a relatively conservative Muslim nation – but it has rarely been addressed openly. Now, the brutal rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl last month is fuelling demands for actions to punish predators.

The heinous crime against Zainab Ansari has triggered nationwide protests and proposed legislation to hold public executions for those convicted of raping children younger than 14.

Kasur, a city to the south of Lahore, was dubbed the “child abuse capital” of Pakistan after a 2015 scandal over the discovery of hundreds of video clips showing 285 children, mostly boys, being sexually abused. Authorities released the men implicated in the videos.

The congested city, which has a population of around 2.5 million, is surrounded by brick kilns and tanneries and has hundreds of small factories making shoes and embroideries. They all employ children, making them particularly vulnerable to abuse.

“Zainab’s death has opened the debate on child abuse to Pakistan’s public, in media and social media in a huge way,” said Nadia Jamil, an actress and philanthropist who is among high-profile Pakistanis speaking out since the girl’s body was found in a garbage dump on January 5.

“It’s never been so transparent ... before,” said Ms Jamil. “It really has shaken the nation’s dormant empathy and conscience.”

Zainab’s body was found a day after she went missing. An autopsy report confirmed she was raped, sodomised and strangled.

On January 23, police said they arrested Mohammed Imran, 24, who confessed to luring Zainab with food and killing her and at least seven other girls. Police said he could have been involved in a child pornography ring.

Anger over inaction by authorities erupted into protests that resulted in two deaths on January 10, when police fired into a crowd. A #JusticeForZainab social media campaign has spread, and 80,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org to hang child abusers.

The unrest reflects frustration over lack of action by the government to crack down on the problem.

“Child pornography is readily available in CD shops” in Kasur, said lawyer Mohmmad Waqas. “Videos from the 2015 scandal are still in markets. The parents whose children were taped ... were silenced by the powerful people in the area.

“In such a situation where government shuts its eyes, crimes against children continue with impunity,” he said.

Sahil, an activist group fighting child sexual abuse since 1996, tallied more than 720 incidents in Kasur in the past three years. It lists 12 reports of abuse just this month in the neighbourhood where Zainab’s body was found.

“These incidents are a result of not punishing those who were part of the larger incident in 2015,” said Samar Minallah Khan, a documentary filmmaker based in the capital, Islamabad. She said the government ignores the problem because child pornography generates so much revenue.

“How come we have acceptance for this kind of content being distributed openly?” she asked. “It’s probably a big thriving business.”

Mr Khan said victims often don’t come forward because they are often blamed for attracting predators. However, Zainab’s death is prompting many to speak out.

“People have started to realise that the child who experiences such forms of violence is a victim,” Mr Khan said. “Due to this, so many people have broken the silence and shared their own experiences.”

Zainab’s death also has led to pressure on schools to do more to protect children.

“There are widespread calls for sex education in schools and awareness programmes for children, parents, teachers,” said Rubina Saigol, a human rights activist in Lahore.

“In the past, sex education was berated as obscenity and a shameful idea. People were in denial. They used to say, ‘This doesn’t happen in an Islamic society.’”

Law Minister Rana Sanaullah of Punjab, the country’s most populous province, promised to act on those suggestions. “The government has taken a decision to amend the law on child protection,” he said. “We plan to change the curriculum for child protection and have made a request to the religious scholars to help in making positive changes.”

Pakistan’s senate has also been asked to pass a bill to re-introduce public hanging for people who rape or kidnap children under the age of 14.

Chairman of the Standing Committee on the Interior Rehman Malik said an amendment to an existing law had already been approved by his committee and should be put before the senate.

The amendment to Section 364-A of the Pakistan Penal Code Act 1860 declares that the punishment for kidnapping or raping a child is to be public execution.

The section currently reads: ‘Whoever kidnaps or abducts any person under [the age of 14] in order that such person may be murdered or subjected to grievous hurt... or to the lust of any person shall be punished with death.’ The amendment seeks to add “by hanging publicly” after the word “death”, according to Mr Malik. Zainab’s sister Laiba, 16, wants Zainab’s murderer punished.

“She didn’t deserve to be killed,” Laiba said. “I don’t know how to cope with this loss.

“Her killer should be stoned to death.”