Afghan Migration And Internal Displacement As Major Political Causes Behind Child Beggary: A Sociological Study In District Peshawar, Pakistan

Abstract

The present study focuses on Afghan migration and internal displacement as major political causes in the promotion of the issue of child begging in district Peshawar, the capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is a qualitative study conducted with the help of a sample size of 60 begging children having equal representation of both genders from the urban and rural areas of sampled district through purposive sampling technique. Besides, 18 male and female representatives from various governmental organizations such as Child Protection Unit, Child Beggar Home, Social Welfare Department, Police Station Head Officers (SHOs) and Lawyers were also interviewed. The collected data was analyzed through thematic analysis. The study concludes that most of the children started begging as a result of Afghan migration and conflict-driven internal displacement from the newly merged tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa into the vicinity of Peshawar district. The study foresees an impressive and solid role on the part of the line departments of the government and NGOs to facilitate the begging children in imparting education and establishing multi-skill development centers to make the begging children workable towards living an honorable life.