Laraib Nisar
Pakistan ranks as the sixth most dangerous country in the world for women according to the Global Gender Gap Index 2018. Currently, Pakistan is witnessing a rapid rise in cases of sexual crimes and domestic violence. With the increase in injustices and animosity towards women in the last few days, and at least one case of a woman being killed just for being a woman being reported within the last week, serious concerns and questions are being raised regarding the situation of law and order in Pakistan and the ease of doing a crime as heinous as murder. Another shocking and heart-breaking factor is the attitude of the general population regarding the recent wave of femicide in the country. Instead of emphasizing with the bereaved families, the society is trying to justify the criminals by somehow placing blame on the victims.
The brutal murder of Noor Mukaddam by a male acquaintance in Islamabad last week, was justified by stating that why did the girl go to meet a guy who wasn’t ‘related’ to her? If, by any chance, this justification holds true, why did we come across the news of Quratulain, a mother to four children, being violently killed by her own dear husband in the safety of her own home? What can justify a man opening fire which killed his wife and injured his daughter and son? It is high time that we sensitize the general population about the fact that the constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan deems ‘the right to life’ a fundamental human right for all the citizens of Pakistan enshrined in Article 9, which means NOTHING can justify a murder, and NOTHING gives anyone a right to take away another human being’s life.
The rise in the frequency of such incidents and the casual justifications and excuses for them makes Khaled Hosseini’s expression in his book ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ that “Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always,” hold completely true in the Pakistani society.
Unfortunately, we can’t question the patriarchal narratives when the Prime minister of the country himself makes remarks validating male lust and aggression, associating rape with clothes and men not being robots to justify their lust and sexual abuses. But then the statistics show that facing sexual harassment is common to all the women in the country either they’re fully covered, or wearing western clothing. Similarly, if clothing is the prime driver of rapes, why do we come across stories of children being raped? What was innocent Zainab wearing? Why do we see tapes of religious elite being involved in molesting young boys, are even boys not safe in our country? Why do we see incidences of females’ corpses being dragged out of their graves and getting raped?
Though the remarks by the PM were condemned largely by all segments of the society as they seem to encourage men to continue acting with impunity, but surprisingly the religious leadership stayed silent on the matter. Islam has given a very respectable position to women, and Islam’s concept of women’s and their rights’ protection is far different from what our society assumes it to be. The silence of the religious elite on such insensitivity and barbarity is perceived as acceptance by the involved criminals and further encourages them.
Inappropriately, the few examples mentioned above fall in the small number of cases that actually get reported, while a whole lot of such incidents go unreported due to societal and cultural barriers. These recurring incidents of violence against women, show where our society is heading towards. Though we have some excellent legislation to counter domestic and sexual harassment against women, we lag behind in the implementation of such laws. Even when we get our hands on the criminals involved in such crimes, the adjudication process is extremely long and ineffective.
In order to make Pakistan a gender sensitive country, the most important role can be played by the law enforcement authorities and the judiciary. If these two institutions are held accountable for their measures to tackle and control crimes against women, there will be a significant decline in the frequency and intensity of such incidents. Judiciary should work in isolation from cultural and societal customs.
Moreover, the topnotch political and religious leaderships’ narratives and opinions about such incidents can help in not only empowering and supporting women but also lead to demoralizing the perpetrators of such brutality. The leadership should act maturely and try to make sensible remarks on an issue as sensitive as the violation of human rights, especially at international forums.
Another important step to decrease such crimes is the redesigning of cultural and social norms. Media can play an important role in this reform, by portraying a strong and empowered picture of women instead of always showing women as weaker beings, along with gender sensitization of the curriculum which educates the younger generation of Pakistani males to empower women around them, and especially that women aren’t just the ones we have in our homes. Initiatives like equal employment opportunities can help in making more women financially independent, hence giving them the power to report any injustice that occurs against them. The strongest tool in containing such injustices against women is to make women of the country aware of their constitutional rights, so they can speak up for them in the highest echelons of the society.
The author Laraib Nisar is a Defense and Strategic Studies’ graduate, working as a Program Coordinator at Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Islamabad.
