• SOGP demands justice for women, especially healthcare providers, facing violence
• Says 32,617 gender-based violence cases reported nationwide in 2024
• Laments absence of helpline to report harassment, attacks

KARACHI: Expressing serious concern over the escalating violence against women, especially female healthcare providers, experts representing the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Pakistan (SOGP) on Saturday demanded that the government bring the perpetrators to justice and address systemic failures.

“We strongly condemn the rising incidents of gender-based violence, including the murder and torture of female doctors. These crimes have a direct impact on maternal health, increasing both maternal mortality and morbidity rates in Pakistan,” SOGP President Dr Rubina Suhail told a press conference here at a local hotel.

She noted that the disturbing trend of honour killings and violence reflected a deep-rooted culture of impunity and silence in the country.

“We call upon the government and the judiciary to take immediate notice of this lawlessness. The survivors and their families must receive legal protection and psychosocial support,” she added.

Referring to a recent report compiled by the Sustainable Social Development Organisation, which mapped gender-based violence in Pakistan in 2024, Dr Suhail said that a staggering 32,617 cases of gender-based violence were reported nationwide.

“These included 5,339 incidents of rape, 24,439 cases of kidnappings/abductions, 2,238 cases of domestic violence and 547 honour killings,” she said, adding: “Punjab recorded the highest number (26,753), followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (3,397), Sindh (1,781) and Balochistan (398), where 185 kidnapping cases were registered but not a single conviction was reported.”

The data, sourced from provincial police departments via Right to Information (RTI) laws, also highlighted 5,398 cases of child sexual abuse from 2019 to 2023, she added.

Speaking on the occasion, SOGP Secretary General Dr Shabeen Naz Masood cited multiple incidents in which female healthcare providers at work were threatened and attacked by patient attendants.

“Such incidents are extremely demoralising and disheartening in a society where women are struggling to survive with dignity. They leave a long-lasting negative impact on the whole society,” she said.

Dr Masood also criticised the role of the media, saying it often highlighted stories without conducting proper investigations into the alleged cases of medical negligence.

“One-sided stories damage the reputation of the other party. We are deeply upset when we read fabricated stories without taking the opinion of the concerned doctors. What’s perhaps more unfortunate is the state’s missing role. There is no helpline available to us where we can immediately report incidents of harassment and attack,” she said.

When asked how frequently she encountered female patients facing physical violence at home, Dr Masood said almost every fourth patient complained of one or the other form of physical, verbal and sexual abuse by the spouse or in-laws irrespective of education or socioeconomic status.

The speakers also called for state measures that could help elevate the status of women in society.

Dr Nusrat Shah and Dr Shahid Rao also spoke.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2025