ISLAMABAD: Almost all women lawmakers of the National Assembly, both from treasury and opposition benches, on Friday unanimously demanded public hanging of all rapists to curb rising cases of harassment and abuse of women and children in the country.

The demand was made in the National Assembly by women members of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

The issue of an electric transformer blast in Hyderabad was also taken up in the lower house of parliament. The blast left several people dead.

“We 69 women MNAs demand quick judgement in rape cases and public hanging of rapists,” said Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar of PML-N.

The women legislators also called for formation of a parliamentary committee to review rape cases.

“If Pakistan has to be run, then rapists and killers must be hanged in public. We will not let the country be run in the way it is being run,” said PTI lawmaker Asma Qadeer who broke into tears while speaking on the floor of the house about rising cases of rape of women and children and the recent one in Islamabad in which a woman, Noor Muqaddam, was slaughtered by her “friend” Zahir Jaffer.

Members of PTI, PML-N and PPP join hands on issue

She kept on weeping while narrating incidents of rape of children and women, recalling that recently a Qari had raped a little girl in a village.

Maulana Akbar Chitrali endorsed the demand of women MNAs and said Islamic punishment must be given in the country and rapists and killers must be hanged at public places to stop such incidents from happening.

“When we raise the issue of Islamic punishments we are criticised that these punishments are being demanded in this modern age,” he added.

PTI MNA Ghazala Saifi said the rapists and killers of women and children should be punished through speedy trials.

Mehnaz Akbar Aziz of PML-N said the killer of Noor Muqaddam must be hanged in public so that such incidents did not take place in future.

Read: Noor of our nation

Shamim Ara Panhwar of PPP said that in the light of increasing incidents of child abuse and rape of women, there was no other option but to hang rapists and killers in public.

Zil-i-Huma of the ruling PTI lamented that the Peshawar High Court on Friday acquitted the principal of a college who had allegedly raped a girl student.

Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari said the government had recently passed a law against rape cases, but only laws would not work because there was a need to change the mindset of society about women.

She said that the government had to protect all women as women would no more accept their humiliation and suffering.

She expressed satisfaction that the investigation into the Noor Muqaddam case was being conducted in the right direction. She said that false reports were being spread on social media about the case to create confusion.

MNA Sabir Qaimkhani, while speaking on a point of order, highlighted the pathetic condition of Hyderabad electric supply system and said that incidents of transformer blasts had become common in the city.

Deputy Speaker of National Assembly Qasim Suri and PPP MNA Agha Rafi demanded an inquiry into the incident.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2021