In a society like ours, where parenthood is considered a divine blessing and a social stage, the inolé often carries emotional and cultural loads. Meanwhile, millions of orphaned children across the country aspire to a family, a house and a chance of life. What if these two unsatisfied needs could be achieved?
Adoption is not only an act of compassion; It is a response to two silent prayers. He brings emotional peace to couples unable to have children and offers love, security and opportunity to children who have lost everything. In a nation struggling with social inequalities, displacement and orphanage, the promotion of culturally and religious adoption can be a transformative force.
I have seen many couples in our society who remain childless even after several years of marriage. Although they are financially strong, emotionally mature and socially established, they continue to wait for their “own” child, turning to medical treatments or expensive spiritual solutions, while rarely considering adoption.
I remember during my stay in Karachi, I knew at least seven to eight couples of this type who were married for more than six to seven years and who still had no children. They were loving and capable people who needed everything to raise a child except a change of mentality. They could have changed the life of a child and perhaps theirs, simply by opening their hearts to adoption.
I also remember my time as a school teacher, where I often interact with colleagues and parents during meetings and school events. Even there, I came across couples who had no children and frequently talked about their desire to become parents. Looking at the growing number of orphaned children in Pakistan, I often wondered silently: why don’t they adopt? Why can’t these loving people open their house to children who have no one?
In Pakistan, around 15 to 20% of married couples cannot have children, according to national health data. This means that a couple in five to six fights silently with infertility. However, little consider adoption as a solution.
About a year ago, I met a couple from Nawabshah, Sindh, whose story has completely changed my point of view on adoption. They were not very educated, but the decision they made was deeply wise and compassionate. After several years of testing and waiting for a child, they chose to adopt a little girl. Although they came from a modest background, they raised it with unconditional love, ensured that she received an appropriate education and gave her all that a child deserves in terms of care, affection and dignity.
Miraculously, a few years later, they were also naturally blessed with organic children. Their adopted daughter grew up with joy, surrounded by brothers and sisters, thriving in a household where she has never been treated differently. This decision not only transformed her life, but she brought emotional and spiritual development to the whole family. It was a powerful reminder that you do not need a high degree to make an educated decision; You just need a good heart.
This story proved to me that adoption does not block blessings; He multiplies them.
A forgotten generation
According to the UN, there are more than 4.6 million orphaned children in Pakistan, and above all they are under 17 years old. This important part of our population suffers from social deprivation, without only parental love but also access to basic rights such as education, health care, security and emotional support. Their state reflects a crisis which must be addressed on an urgent and national scale.
Vulnerability does not stop there. 3.3 million shocking children in Pakistan are engaged in child labor, many of which are orphans or come from broken and uninized houses. These children are forced to work, begging, factory work or even dangerous jobs that steal their health and future. Without education or stability, their dreams are crushed before they even start growing.
Many of these children have lost their family due to poverty, terrorism, illness or natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes. Without parental care and protection, they often find themselves in overcrowded orphanages or in the streets where they are faced with negligence, exploitation and abuse.
Natural disasters have worsened this problem. The 2005 cashmere earthquake left thousands of orphaned children overnight. In the middle of this sorrow, a story still inspires a lot-the renowned singer Hadiqa Kiani adopted a little boy, Naad-E-Ali, of the affected region. She gave him a house, an identity and a future.
His action remains a brilliant example that maternity is not defined by birth, but by love.
These are not only numbers. These are lives; Young souls with unexploited potential and waiting for someone to care. By opening our hearts and our houses, we can rewrite their stories.
Islam and adoption
Unlike cultural hesitation, Islam does not prohibit adoption. In fact, he encourages care for orphans in powerful and explicit terms. While religion maintains the child’s line and identity (NASAB), it urges believers to assume the full responsibility of orphaned children, offering them love, protection and subsistence.
The Koran says: “They ask you orphans. Say: improvement for them is the best.”
(Surat al-Baqarah, 2: 220)
“And they give food despite the love for the needy, the orphan and the captive, [saying]And “We only feed you for the face of Allah. We do not wish your reward or your gratitude. ‘”
(Surat al-insan, 76: 8-9)
The Prophet Muhammad (PSL) himself was an orphan. His love for orphans is deeply invested in Islamic lessons. He said:
“Me and the one who cares about an orphan will be together in paradise like this”, “
And he indicated his two fingers together to illustrate proximity. (Sahih Bukhari)
This Hadith alone should be enough to motivate Muslim couples to consider taking care of an orphan. The adoption, in the Islamic framework of Kafalah (guardianship), allows a child to keep his name and his identity while being raised with love and dignity in a stable house.
When a child is adopted in a stable and loving house, he has access to education, health care, emotional support and social security. No longer losing in a system, the child now has a real chance of getting out of the cycle of poverty and trauma.
Children from the Street Refuge at CEOs, successes begin with the opportunity. When childless couples adopt, they don’t only realize their own parenting dream, but they also offer a child the gift of a new life. This child can grow to become a doctor, teacher, chief or manufacturer of changes. But more than anything, this child grows loved.
In addition, the couple wins emotional fulfillment, company in old age and a deeper sense of the lens. The adoption transforms a painful silence into pieces filled with laughter. He transforms lives on both sides.
Cultural silence
Despite religious encouragement and emotional needs, adoption is always taboo in many regions of Pakistani society. Some families fear societal judgment, some are worried about the inheritance and purity of the line, and others are simply hesitant because it is not the “norm”. But we have to break this silence.
Let us remember, to ourselves and our communities, that Islam encourages care for orphans, and modern legal systems in Pakistan already allow adoption under the law of guardianship. It is possible to adopt while retaining the child’s line and conforming to religious values.
We need daring voice, including academics, teachers, celebrities and religious leaders, to speak openly about adoption and its blessings. We need media campaigns that have successful adoptive families. We need government policies that facilitate legal obstacles and provide post-adoption support.
Social and national responsibility
Adoption is not only a private matter; It is a national social responsibility. With thousands of orphaned children who grow without care, the consequences for society are serious. These children, if they are not taken care of, are vulnerable to children’s work, drug abuse, trafficking, extremism and chronic poverty.
By encouraging adoption, we invest in human potential. Each child deserves a family and each family has the power to change the life of a child. The adoption not only reduces the burden of the State on orphanages and shelters, but also strengthens the social fabric of the nation.
Let’s change the story: each adopted child is not an granted burden, but a blessing brought home.
Pakistan is held at a crossroads. On the one hand, millions of orphaned children live without love; On the other, thousands of couples without children living without the joy of parenting. Between them stands a cultural wall that we alone can demolish with empathy, education and courage.
We have to learn examples around us. From the couple I met who adopted and who was then blessed with organic children, to public figures like Hadiqa Kiani who showed the nation what maternity is really mean.
Let us answer the call of our faith:
“Do not oppress the orphan.” (Surah Ad-duhaa, 93: 9)
Let’s not fear what society will say but we are wondering rather: what will Allah say?
To each couple without children by wishing a child and to each orphan child who aspires to a parent, the answer can be found with each other. Let us open our homes. Let us open our hearts. Let’s create families not only by blood, but by love, faith and choice.
Because sometimes the most beautiful families were not born, they are made.
Rabia Khan is an independent teacher and contributor
All the facts and information are the sole responsibility of the writer
