EDITORIAL: The everyday reality of far too many women in Pakistan, tragically, is marred by violence and the violation of their bodily autonomy, manifested in pervasive sexual harassment, assault and rape, as well as domestic abuse and honour killings.
In a highly disturbing reminder of this plight, reports in local media have highlighted that 46 different cases of abduction and sexual violence against women were reported in just a single district of Punjab, Mandi Bahauddin, over a period of less than a month from July 1-24.
Ranging from cases of rape to rape of a minor to kidnappings, these incidents starkly illustrate the ongoing nightmare and ubiquitous dangers that women and girls face daily despite the presence of numerous laws meant to punish the perpetrators of such crimes with the harshest possible penalties, including the death sentence.
One must note that these cases emerging from Mandi Bahauddin cannot be viewed in isolation. They are part of an overall rise in the incidence of violence against women in Punjab, where 10,201 such cases were recorded in 2023 by the Sustainable Social Development Organisation, a significant 16 percent rise over the figure documented the previous year.
While the roots of this epidemic of violence can be attributed to the prevalent patriarchal norms and societal structures that perpetuate male dominance and female subordination, the legal and institutionalised failures that have led to this state cannot be underestimated either.
Our lawmakers may have made strides in coming up with some progressive legislation related to cases of gender-based violence, but there have also been too many instances of refusal by the law enforcement machinery to implement these laws in a swift and effective manner.
This has fostered a culture of impunity where the perpetrators know that they can get away with their crimes without facing meaningful consequences. This reality was reflected in the Punjab Gender Parity Report 2022, which had revealed that only four percent of cases of gender-based violence in the province had resulted in convictions that year, with the rest ending in acquittals.
In a country where many a rape survivor is shamed and doubted by the entire law enforcement apparatus, ranging from medico-legal officers to police investigators, the lack of support and empathy combined with flawed and often incompetent inquiries, further victimise survivors, exacerbating their trauma and discouraging others in the same boat from coming forward.
The recent sickening incident of a woman being allegedly gang-raped in front of her husband and child on the outskirts of Lahore on July 25 provided a very apt representation of the way the Punjab police too often handles such cases.
Instead of providing the survivor and her family with the needed support and immediately initiating the requisite standard operating procedures, the police officials of Hafizabad and Nankana Sahib districts were too busy arguing over whose jurisdiction the alleged crime was committed in, perfectly depicting the police’s insensitive and inept handling of such offences.
Coming back to the spate of cases emerging from Mandi Bahauddin, the Punjab government and the district’s law enforcement machinery must come out of their stupor and adopt a proactive approach, focusing on rigorous investigations, effective prosecution and more sensitive victim support.
In fact, the law enforcement apparatus all over the country, renowned for meting out less-than-empathetic treatment to survivors of gender-based violence, is in need of an overhaul of attitudes and training. Police personnel must be trained to handle sexual violence cases sensitively and professionally, while there is also a need for effective and swift prosecution of such cases by equipping investigators and prosecutors with modern resources and training so that perpetrators are held accountable for their actions and the culture of impunity that prevails in crimes against women ends.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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