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April 14, 2002
EXCERPTS: Breaking the silence
A.A. Hayat explains the phenomenon of violence against women
“O you who believe! You are forbidden to inherit women against their will”.(4:19)
RAPE has occurred in virtually all cultures and times. It has been most prevalent in the context of enslavement, mob violence or the social disruption brought about by war. Islam views rape as a violent crime against the victim, against society and against religious injunctions.
Rape unfortunately remains a common form of violence against women. The irony being that women are often blamed for being responsible for the rape attacks. The reality is that the victim is an unwilling partner in the sex act and thus bears neither blame nor stigma. Ninety per cent of rape cases are committed by neighbours, family members and others who are known to the victim. It is a pre-mediated act, which is committed when the rapist finds the opportunity to fulfil his depraved desire.
It is essential that everyone must be aware of the facts and reality of this heinous crime and what can be done to avoid its occurrence. In most societies of the world rape is considered a serious crime although not always for the same reasons. Some exceptions which differ in the nature and permissiveness of this crime are:-
• Violation of a woman’s virginity. Talmudic law (Jewish) makes little distinction between seduction and rape. Emphasis is on violation of virginity. As such, a woman who is seduced and agrees to have sexual intercourse willingly, is still supposed to have been raped.
• In many African tribes rape is considered a violation of property rights as the woman belongs either to a father or husband and dealt with accordingly.
• In France taking sexual advantage of a person in a subservient position, e.g. an employee or ward, is considered rape.
History records situations when rape was permitted. Thus women of conquered nations were continuously raped as they were regarded as booty won in war. This was however forbidden by Islam. As a punishment, some American Indian tribes allowed forcible rape of an adulterous wife by twenty or more men.
Breaking the silence on rape is important in a society where many feel a sense of shame or even guilt after being sexually abused. Awareness helps to avoid situations, which provide opportunity to a rapist and also gives guidelines how to react if confronted by one.
In Pakistan very few cases of rape are reported or published in the media. Human rights groups estimate that only one third of the cases are reported or registered with the police due to the prevalent social norms. Victims keep quiet because of social taboos and the so called concept of ghairat or izzat. As a result many myths and half truths have arisen which tend to obscure the issue and make open discussion to educate the public difficult.
When rape takes place in a backward rural setting, the rapists are mostly near relatives, neighbours, family friends or family members. As such, the victims, instead of being protected, have to face the wrath and disbelief of their families and communities especially as family honour stands in the way of reporting the crime and identifying the criminals.
Gang rape has increased during the past few years and is used as a means of revenge. It is committed not only in public places but also in homes and in front of male members of the victim. Political, sectarian and ethnic conflicts are characterized by rape and molestation of women. It has also become a tool in the hands of terrorists.
Why rape cases are not reported by women
Women are reluctant to report cases of rape owing to the social stigma attached to such cases. Besides a victim is in shock especially if she has been raped by someone she knows, that is, by a relative or others close to her or the family. The victim and her family fear to go to the police station and report the crime due to the reputation of the police which normally results in further harassment, extortion and even custodial rape. Instead of being consoled and helped to get justice they are apprehensive that they will be treated as criminals.
Victims who do file a report due to corruption face hindrances in the pre-trial procedures. Pressure from influential and even family members is brought about to withdraw the case. These combined with delay in processing the case weakens it considerably owing to which the assailant either goes free or is awarded a light sentence.
Victims lay themselves open to the possibility of being prosecuted, convicted and imprisoned for unlawful consensual intercourse if they fail to prove rape. The court assumes that as sexual contact occurred it was illicit sex and treat it as adultery or fornication leaving the victim open to a jail term of minimum 10 years....
Owing to the police’s apathy and uncompromising attitude the victim is subjected to further humiliation by being asked a series of embarrassing and irrelevant questions. Other difficulties she has to overcome are in registering the FIR, which takes two to three days to register, if it is recorded at all.
A victim’s statement is incorrectly recorded which includes false and incriminating details or omitting/ overstating the facts.
Frequently the police embellish, modify or incorrectly transcribe the statements of witnesses and even instruct and convince them to change their stories to include details that apparently support their case, but are actually motivated by the self interest of the police whose ulterior aim is to close and dispose of cases quickly without any investigations.
The police tamper with the witnesses’ statement after obtaining bribes from the accused.
The investigations carried out in registered cases of sexual violence are inadequate.....
Experience shows that the accused who normally are either powerful persons of the area or related to the victim want to treat the offence as a personal or family issue, as such influence the police to pressurize the victim to withdraw the case. The police in turn intimidate, humiliate and even physically abuse the victim to get her consent.
Custodial violence, that is physical abuse and rape in custody by the police, has increased many fold specially since the passing of the Zina Ordinance as a larger number of victims come into contact with the police. Statistics show that nearly 72 per cent of women in the police stations are sexually abused. This is despite the government directives prohibiting the detention of a woman overnight in a police station.
Excerpts from
Women: victims of social evils
By Brig (retd) A.A. Hayat
Pakistan Institute of Security Management, 18-F, Block-6, PECHS, Karachi-75400
Tel: 021-4535169 Fax: 021-4559822
162pp. Rs186
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