SUKKUR: Speakers at a conference organised by the Women Action Forum (WAF) at the Sukkur Arts Council on Saturday called for the formation of a ‘special police force’ to keep a strict check on sexual violence and move swiftly against those found involved in such offences as well as similar acts of violence against women and children.

The conference was held to mainly discuss the mid-August criminal assault and murder case of a nine-year-old housemaid, Fatima Furiro. She, along with other girls and women, had been employed by a revered family of Ranipur (Khairpur district) and worked as housemaid at its haveli. Several members of the family, including Asad Shah and his wife Hina Shah, have been arrested or made to join the investigation into Furiro’s alleged murder.

The conference recommended deployment of the proposed special police force in every district of Sindh to effectively check such incidents and promptly arrest those found involved in such offences.

“Personnel of such police force should be deployed around the houses and mansions of pirs, besides shrines, mosques and madrassahs,’ it stressed. The force should also take immediate action on complaints of torture on women and children, it added.

Calls for deployment of ‘special police force’ at residences of pirs, as well as shrines, mosques and madressahs

It demanded that complete transparency should be ensured in the process of the investigation into the Fatima Furiro case.

Most speakers at the conference including Khairpur SSP Dr Samiullah Soomro and his Sukkur counterpart Irfan Ali Sammo discussed little about the Ranipur incident as they spoke about ways to check domestic violence and gender discrimination.

SSP Irfan Ali Sammo suggested that a change should be brought about in the entire policing system, arguing that only one per cent success had so far been achieved in dealing with violence against women.

SSP Soomro said that the Fatima Furiro case had drawn a sharp and sustained reaction from people in Sindh. “We would try our best to ensure justice to the victim’s family in this case,” he added.

WAF chairperson Haseena Musarat and other speakers, who included academics, journalists, lawyers, literary figures and activists of various political, nationalist and civil society organisations,

They regretted that Asad Shah and Hina Shah were not being not dealt with according to the relevant laws and not being treated as the prime accused in the case.

Ms Musarat stressed that anyone found guilty must be punished in order to restore justice to the victim’s family. She alleged that police were not investigating the case honestly due to the influence of the accused family.

She urged the judiciary to take suo motu notice of the incident and order a judicial probe in the case.

Fatima Furiro’s mother, Shabnam Furiro, also attended the conference.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2023