KARACHI: Speakers call for legislation: Domestic violence
KARACHI, March 15: Speakers at a seminar on “Domestic Violence with Focus on Burning and Acid-Throwing” on Tuesday called for promulgation of laws for preventing domestic violence, introduction of licensing system for acid sale, the need for creating public awareness, and encouraging burnt victims so as to make them effective part of society.
The seminar was part of the second-day session of a three-day workshop on “Domestic Violence on Women”, organized for journalists by the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) at its library.
Speaking on the occasion, the In-charge of the burns ward, Civil Hospital Karachi, Prof Dr Shaista Effendi, said there were psychological problems and extreme desperation behind the incidents of acid throwing and burning, adding that offenders often gave such indications prior to committing the offence.
She said illiteracy and lack of awareness were basic reasons behind such abuses and called for addressing household issues facing women at the earliest to prevent this kind of treatment with them.
“Absolute prevention of such violence is possible as our society is community-based and we can curb occurrence of such misfortunes by discussing problems within the family,” she said.
Criticizing careless reporting by journalists, she urged journalists to show the spirit of responsible journalism while covering such incidents, as victims of burnt and acid-throwing cases needed carefully treatment.
However, Dr Shaista called on society to encourage burn victims and rehabilitate them so they could spend normal lives.
She informed that 98 per cent of the total burning cases reported at the Civil Hospital Karachi were accidental, one per cent pertained to acid-throwing, and one per cent cases were related to homicidal attempts, while very little or no cases of dowry disputes were reported.
She highlighted that Quranic teachings were the best source of refraining from violence against women besides the positive aspects of our culture and norms.
Gender Studies consultant and Vice-President of the Irteqa Institute of Social Sciences Dr Tahira S Khan said bifurcation of society between men and women was the basic reason behind domestic violence against women.
She said the attitude of society towards gender discrimination was responsible for burning and acid-throwing incidents, adding that such abuses were very little part of the overall violence committed against women.
“Most of the domestic violence, physical or psychological, is hidden and victims cannot plea before any one. The need arises for drafting appropriate legislation in this regard similar to that in Malaysia – the first Muslim country where the Domestic Violence Act was passed,” she proposed.
Terming social, cultural and religious factors as constraints in such legislation, she said Pakistan was far from constituting any domestic violence law, which should be made according to our society’s framework.
Dr Tahira told participants of seminar that the phenomenon of domestic violence was prevailing not only in our country, but it was increasing in other South Asian countries as well.
The chairperson of Depilex Smile Again Rehabilitation Centre for Burn Victims, Ms Musarrat Misbah, said most of the acid-throwing and burning incidents committed against women were gender-based and intentional, while it was accidental or rivalry-based in case of men.
She also stressed the need for constituting rehabilitation institutions for burnt victims and highlighting these issues through media. — PPI
