The writer is a lawyer and has authored the book A Comparative Analysis of Media & Media Laws in Pakistan. She tweets @yasmeen_9
The news of a young 18-year-old who doused herself with petrol, setting herself ablaze outside Bet Mir Hazar police station, having gone to lodge a complaint against the investigation officer for helping the main culprit get bail by favouring him in the report, had terrified her. The girl was allegedly raped on January 5, 2014 on her way back from school, by the culprit and four other accomplices.
This was a few days ago. She had followed the news since. The “rape victim” later died at Nishtar Hospital. What a contradiction it is, she thought; they call her a “rape victim”, yet the law minister says the girl was not raped, but there was an “attempt” to rape her. She tried to laugh, but it turned into a sob that caught at her throat. How worthy was that extinguished life is reflected in the following sentences: “Very low attendance was witnessed in the sixth sitting of the assembly as members discussed the incident of self-immolation of rape victim through 11 points of order. Opposition legislators, except the JI MPA, staged a token walkout for two minutes against the incident … The opposition MPAs raised slogans against the minister, alleging he was covering up police negligence.” (Published March 15.)
She recalled a TV channel saying that in spite of the proof presented in the medical report, the main assailant was set free on bail. The “rape victim” decided to set herself on fire in protest. But now they say that she was not raped. Why did the “rape victim” then resort to a course of action that would surely take her own life?
She could feel the fear the “rape victim” must have felt when her assailants would have closed in, the utter helplessness she must have felt. Punishment for rape is harsh:
“1) Whoever commits rape shall be punished with death or imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than 10 years or more than 25 years and shall also be liable to fine.
“2) When rape is committed by two or more persons in furtherance of common intention of all, each of such persons shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life.” But if the ‘rape victim’ was allegedly never raped, do the assailants get off scot free?
She had heard the Punjab chief minister promise the family justice. How? She’s already dead. He announced a “compensation” of Rs0.5m for the family of the “rape victim”. They must be dirt poor, she assumed. Will the money “compensate” their honour? A life wasted? What exactly was the compensation for? Will they pay more if the same happened to her? They were rich. She feared her uncle’s son who lived in the same house. His eyes were beady. She did not like the way they roved over her. She did not like his overtures. He had tried to get physical twice. She had started spending more time in her room recently.
She lived, in fear of being a woman!
Published in The Express Tribune, March 26th, 2014.
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COMMENTS (20)
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The article is well written, explains the dilemma which a victim faces for the crime committed against her person. But let us be prudent and not complicate several issues. Pakistan needs a special force, a special branch within the police department which attends to and investigate reported rape cases. The judiciary should have the laws to deal with this Evil, not death sentence nor prolonged jail sentence but the perpetrators must be subjected to Psychiatric treatment. In general the community leaders must tackle this social evil of force against eomen in all facets of life. A woman is a partner, a sister and above all a Mother which deserve a better status in the community than that until now in place and more or less in all parts of the world.
Rex Minor
Pakistan Is becoming animal kingdom with each passing day - dead bodies of women pulled from graves have been raped let alone living ones -
To save women/poor life, we need a drastic change in the policies and systems which are not providing security and safety to the women/ common people. We must raise voices against class system, and build pressure on government to provide justice for all. It is also responsibility of the Assembly member of the area to make efforts to identify the culprits and to provide justice to the victims.
Saleha
It hurts. .......the callousness of the Government. Why wasn't the Law Minister awarded Pride Of Performance awarded on 23rd March?
Thk u for this - u are doing great service! Akbar Ahmed
A very heart breaking write up. But these are the facts in our Pakistan. Till we have the present social contract this will keep on happening. We are a society which has lost its soul( if it ever had one).
Dear madam, A very revealing article, reflects the injustice in our present political setup. Unfortunately, the leaders have become so feeling-less that nothing effects them. May Allah have mercy on Pakistan!! Rgds, Asad
I feel that not enough NOISE has been made by the media and public to draw attention to this savage case. I read somewhere a small piece that summed this up well : The CM came, shed a tear for the camera, slapped a few police on the wrists again for the cameras, threw some money at the victims family and then went way..........confident that THIS TOO SHALL PASS.
Justice. When? where? how?
Great Op Ed, kudos to the writer and ET. I wish more power for Pakistani women or at least parity with male dominated tribal society.
well writen, through education society need to be brought out of stone age and local customs.
I have but one question. Why was no autopsy report or the rape victim's medico legal report made public?
feeling shame of being part of this male community
Sad story. Many more face the problems of being a woman in a society which is ruled by men and where women can only survive if they follow the rules set by them.Most of the women know that obedience and accepting an inferior status is the only way to survive. What we need to think about is making laws which give women equal rights The right to have a job, the right to disallow men marrying another woman. That is how most of western countries are doing and their socities are functioning successfully.
We treat our mothers, daughters, sisters, girlfriends, love interests, and wives for first three years, very well. I have thought very hard as to what happens later. Even here, women still make 80 percent of what men make for doing the same job. I think, it has to do with lack of leverage, lack of punching power, which is based on education, money, status, and physical strength. I can think of some women with great status, Catharine the Great of Russia, Elizabeth I, Victoria, and Noor Jehan, who did exactly, what men who had power, did. One of the most tragic secret and open transaction is, that of selling young girls, by members of their own families, using them like currency.
Very well written ma'am. We need to find a way out. #Respect. U educate a man u educate one. U educate woman, u educate genration
Sad to read the pathetic status of Women in Pakistan.shame to Elected Members of Pak Assembly who preferred a "symbolic"walkout rather than lodging a strong protest on the House. To talk of compensation to the family of a rape victim is absurd.Will the money, irrespective of the volume, restore the honour of the victim or her family .Shall they be able to face the world with same honour and dignity as they had been doing in the past .