In the 20-month period between June 2013 and February 2015, 4,960 cases of rape were registered all over the country, according to figures provided by the minister of state for interior to the Senate on Friday.

Only 219 people of a total of 6,632 booked in these cases have been convicted. Punjab topped the dubious list. Some 4,322 rape cases were registered here and of the more than 5,700 accused, only 209 were convicted.

The high instance of complaints to the police in the country’s biggest province could mean that the victims here were comparatively less intimidated by cultural factors that discourage the registration of such cases.

Or it could be taken as an alarming indication that Punjab has not been that successful in the fight against conditions that have encouraged rape, which experts often explain as an act by the powerful to subjugate and humiliate the weak.

In any case, the gap between the number of registered cases and the number of convictions everywhere in the country reconfirms the long-held suspicion about the inability of the system to provide justice to those who dare to speak up.

Read: What you need to know about Pakistan's new Anti-Rape Bill

These are staggering figures, especially given all the taboos associated with the reporting of rape cases that ensure that a large number of them are never brought to the notice of the police. The breakdown provided in the list shows just how difficult it is to move towards a conviction once a formal complaint has been made. It is also horrifically clear that the system chases those who are able to survive the shock and pressure immediately after a rape incident. It creates hurdles for those seeking justice at various levels. It guards the rapist, and exposes loopholes that can easily be exploited by a combination of resources and a daunting shaming process which stigmatises the raped. Parliament that has repeatedly demanded to be apprised of the statistics on rape must next take up the responsibility of leading the fight against this most serious of crimes.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2015

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