2 BASIC APPROACHES THAT MAKE WOMEN TERRIBLE IN PAKISTAN

Women feel unsafe and terrible in the hardliner environment of Pakistan. There have been recorded plenty of rape and honor killing cases every year in the country. According to the Women Peace and Security Index, Pakistan was ranked at number 150 among the worst 153 countries for women worldwide. Women's average years of schooling in the country stands at only five years, while only 33 percent of Pakistani women have been found to use cellphones. Only 24pc of Pakistani women are employed, while their share of seats in parliament stands at only 20pc.

    The report, published by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security in partnership with the Peace Research Institute of Oslo, claims that 1.09 males are born for every female born in Pakistan, which is higher than the 1.05 natural demographic rate, meaning that Pakistanis have a son bias. It also identifies around 500,000 missing girls in Pakistan between 2010-15, which indicates that half a million more female children should have been born in the country during the period was it not for the son-bias.

2 Basic Approaches that make women terrible

2.1. Rape

The definition of rape for the purposes of this article is where a person engages in sexual intercourse with a woman under the following conditions: against her will; without her consent; under duress; if she is under the age of sixteen; or in any other circumstances that would not be regarded as legally or morally acceptable. It has a long list of rape cases that committed time by time in different localities. 

The 6-years old girl was raped and then murdered in Lahore, Punjab

    Mostly, rape cases happen in rural areas under the tribal cultures "Taboos" and "Panchayat" in parts of Sindh and Punjab. Among them, a big part of the population is not accessible to record their case properly at Police stations. Because the rapist usually takes shelter from the law enforcers after committing the crime and then fled the prison easily. 

The case of Mukhtaran Bibi was the first “honor rape” case in Pakistan that brought international attention. In 2002, Mukhtaran Bibi was gang-raped upon the order of a tribal clan because of the alleged relationship her twelve-year-old brother had with a woman from a higher caste. According to the custom, Mukhtaran Bibi was expected to commit suicide after being raped. However, she did not remain silent like the many women before her who went through the same suffering and numerous others who did not even live through it because they were killed.

Recently, a woman was raped on a motorway when her car got punctured and was waiting for mechanical help. The woman was attacked when her car broke down in the early hours of Thursday while she was driving from the city of Lahore, capital of Punjab province, to Gujranwala with her children. Unidentified assailants attacked her as she stopped her vehicle, smashing her car window before raping her in a nearby field and robbing her of cash and jewelry.

2.2. Honor Killing

Women in Pakistan have long been oppressed and denied justice. Even the subject of rape has long been considered a taboo in our society. Likewise, if a woman does not agree to an arranged marriage, has a relationship with a man despite being married, is having sexual relations with a man, or does any other act that may bring “dishonor” to her family, it results in her own death by a family member. Honor killing is the homicide of a member of a family by other members, due to the perpetrators’ belief that the victim has brought shame or dishonor upon the family, or has violated the principles of a community or a religion.

International conventions have long been highlighting violence against women especially honor killings and rape in Pakistan, as can be seen in the report of Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).  In the most recent Amnesty International report, it can be seen that there are still numerous amounts of cases of violence against women as 596 cases of rape and gang-rape, 36 cases of sexual assault, and 186 cases of so-called “honor” crimes have been reported. There may be many more that are not even taken to the police.

3. Reasons

The following reasons help in committing the crimes that make unsafe and insecure women in the country. 

• Lack of education among women
• Lack of understanding of the basic rights of women in an Islamic society. 
• Lack of responsible role of the media houses, especially when they run vulgar advertisements door to door. 
• Lack of socio-economic activities for women to engage and make them skillful. 
• Lack of proper training institute for women how to protect themselves while being on the worksite. 
• Lack of basic religious values that Islam has already designed for the safety of women and their honor, but unfortunately the values are misguided by local cultures and customs. 
• Lack of financial issues at home.

4. Solutions

• Give respect as Islam has given for a woman.
• Give them education equally. 
• Teach them the rationale of culture and religion from the school level. 
• Empower them financially and making skilled at home.
• The existing laws on women's protection should be effective without bias and political infiltration. 
• The policing mechanism needs to be bold and effective above all the external pressures.  

5. Conclusion

Women rape and honor killing have sparked a horrific situation in Pakistan. According to an estimation, 4-5 women are raped and 100-150 are killed every day in the country. In parts of the country, girls are deprived of basic education and are not allowed to work or do business. Sometimes, they are even forced for working round the clock and neglected their fundamental rights. There is only a possibility to educate girls from early childhood and give them equal respect and love from the home level. It returns them a courage to face the rest hardships and obstacles in the way to success.