Pakistani community "must not bury our heads in the sand" over child sex abuse

MUSLIM community leader Mohammed Shafiq today hailed justice for the victims of the Rotherham child grooming gang and called for the Pakistani community to not “bury our heads in the sand” over abuse.

Four men — brothers Arshid Hussain (40), Basharat Hussain (38) and Bannaras Hussain (36), and Qurban Ali (53) — and two women — Karen MacGregor (58), of Wath, and Shelley Davies (40), will be sentenced for a total of 55 grooming and child sex offences on Friday.

Mr Shafiq, chief executive of the national Ramadhan Foundation, said that the criminals had brought shame “on their families, community and friends”.

He added: “Today we have seen justice for the victims and their families, for too long these girls have been ignored and rejected by the authorities and finally today they had their day in court.

“I pay tribute to the victims and their families for the dignified way they have dealt with these traumatic times.

“Their bravery is the reason why the world finally discovers the brutality of this evil grooming gang and the failure of the authorities to protect the victims.

“A number of those on trial are distant relatives to me and I wish to make it clear regardless of who the groomers are I will never stop campaigning against these evil people.

“Over the course of the past few months some people have claimed my campaign against Pakistani grooming gangs has brought shame on the community.

“On the contrary, I would like to say that these groomers are in ones who have brought shame on their families, community and friends.

“The sad reality is that in the case of on-street gang grooming there is an over representation of Pakistani men.

“Until British Pakistanis accept that this is a problem for our community we will not be able to eradicate this evil.

“Burying our head in the sand as the usual response is not good enough.

“This is a concerted effort by a minority of Pakistani men who have groomed, abused and raped young white girls.

“This is a form of racism and we shouldn't hesitate to condemn it.

“Blaming or deflecting attention away from the evil men who carry out such actions is despicable.

“Whilst the groomers have been brought to justice we have a number of South Yorkshire Police officers who have been accused of failing this vulnerable girls.

“It is no good for this failed force to ignore that these victims want justice against the officers responsible.”

The Ramadhan Foundation says it works for peaceful co-existence and dialogue for all communities.