Protect women

Published September 2, 2024

ENTRENCHED misogynistic and patriarchal beliefs have normalised violence against women in society; harassment, rape, honour killings, domestic abuse, IPV, and acid attacks make regular headlines but fail to arouse any public outrage. However, some lawmakers made the right noises recently. Last week, a parliamentary body expressed concern about 10,201 cases of domestic violence against women in Punjab in 2023 and demanded a restructured national database on crimes against women and children under the human rights ministry. The Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights also scanned the escalating figures of the aforesaid menace. According to documents provided by the KP police, the conviction rate was a pathetic two to five per cent. This underscores the dearth of political will to fight the ‘silent pandemic’ and shows that the absence of a modernised, sensitised and digitised criminal justice system is lethal for vulnerable citizens.

Pro-women legislation alone cannot save women. Last year, the UNFPA indicated that 32pc of women in Pakistan experienced physical violence and 40pc of married women endured spousal abuse. But statistics are likely to be higher, as scores of women are either unable to access justice due to societal and structural impediments or are forced to stay silent by their kin. Besides, the curse of child marriage has worsened the situation: 21pc of underage girls in Pakistan were given in marriage due to abject poverty, lack of education and rigid social mores. Domestic abuse is not a private dispute to be settled within the home, but a criminal offence. Therefore, law-enforcement must be held accountable for its inability to prevent and penalise offences against women. The state has to view all forms of violence against women as one of the most brutal means of patriarchal control, for laws to be implemented along with robust investigation and prosecution. In addition, institutions such as women police stations and women-centric crisis centres are mandatory to wipe out gender injustice.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

Depopulating Gaza
Updated 07 Feb, 2025

Depopulating Gaza

The least feasible "solution" is the Trumpian plan for Gaza’s ethnic cleansing and occupation, which is a non-starter.
‘Pause’ in US aid
07 Feb, 2025

‘Pause’ in US aid

THE impact of the Trump administration’s decision to ‘pause’ all US foreign aid programmes, especially those...
Mobilising opposition
07 Feb, 2025

Mobilising opposition

POLITICS makes strange bedfellows. There has not, for quite some time, been a guest list as intriguing as the one...
No time left
Updated 06 Feb, 2025

No time left

Climate change concerns continue to remain a footnote as politics dominates national discourse, surfacing only when disaster strikes.
Karim Aga Khan
06 Feb, 2025

Karim Aga Khan

PRINCE Karim Aga Khan was a man who straddled various worlds and cultures. Beyond his role as spiritual leader of ...
Cotton production
06 Feb, 2025

Cotton production

PAKISTAN’S cotton crop is on the ropes. The crop output has been falling since FY15, when the country harvested a...