Conceptualizing Islamic Scholars Perspective on Corporal Punishment of Children in Pakistan

Abstract

Corporal punishment is the most debated issues around the globe. In Pakistan it has the support of cultural, social and religious doctrine. This paper aims to understand the real meaning of Islamic teachings with respect to child socialization and character building as corporal punishment is one of the methods used for this purpose. In order to have an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon ten religious scholars were selected purposively for the study. Data was collected through in-depth interviews using asn interview guide. Discourse analysis method was used for the data analysis process. In order to ensure the anonymity and confidently of the participants data was coded. The study reported that corporal punishment is the outcome of deviation from the real philosophy of Islamic teachings as Islam focuses on the virtues of mercy, kindness, love and affection while dealing with the children whilst at the same time Islam also supports corporal punishment but under certain guidelines and restrictions. The study recommended that providing proper training to teachers on the alternative method of behaviour modification, overcoming the teachers own issues and frustration, proper monitoring and accountability mechanism, proper legislation and following the real meaning of Islamic teachings in dealing with the children and for their socialization and character-building process will be helpful for overcoming the of corporal punishment of children.