Misogyny in Haripur

It is most unfortunate that two women were punished in the most ruthless manner possible.

Muhammad Sadaqat July 31, 2011
It’s been almost one-and-a-half months since SB, the victim of a local jirga’s so-called justice, was made to flee from her village Neelor Bala near Haripur, after suffering the unbearable humiliation of being stripped and paraded naked.

The woman was punished in this most horrific manner by four armed men, all brothers and wielding considerable influence locally, because her son and a relative were accused of sexually assaulting the wife of one of the perpetrators.

The matter was taken to a local jirga which decided that the woman who had been raped – and apparently become pregnant — was now “haram” — and that her husband and his clan were free to settle scores in the manner of their choosing.

First, the woman who had allegedly been raped was divorced by her husband and thrown out of the house. She was also told that she would not be entitled to any money from her former husband’s side and that the child born thereafter would also get no financial support of any kind.

After that the men tried to get hold of the alleged rapist but they could not locate him. Instead, they went to SB’s house, stripped her naked and paraded her through the village. After that she was forced out from her home and told to leave the village.

It is most unfortunate that as a result of all that has happened, two women were punished in the most ruthless manner possible.

SB is now living in a house provided by the provincial government, in the colony of a now-defunct industrial unit. Her husband used to work as a driver in Lahore but lost his job because of what happened. Their financial condition is, as a result, so bad that their three daily meals are being paid for by the government as well.

The other woman, who was allegedly raped and became pregnant, is living with her parents. She has an aging father who is the family’s sole breadwinner and works at a tandoor in Rawalpindi. Often she has no money to even pay for the bus to go from her village into Haripur city.
WRITTEN BY:
Muhammad Sadaqat
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (16)

Waqar | 13 years ago | Reply Where are so called humen right NGO's......?? When matters comes of asia bibi or any person who makes fun of islamic values.. all these NGO's comes in to save that person. Our news papers becomes black with debates.. but when ill face of society is shown by such incident all these foreign funded NGO's become silent............. What a great work these NGO's are doing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amjad | 13 years ago | Reply @Zafar karachiwala: What does this have to do with being Pakistani? When s criminal commits a horrible act in Norway or US or Austria, do they speak like you? Yes there are bad people in our society who need to be educated but it shows we need to work more to provide support to abused women. If you think there are no abused women in Western countries, then you need to see more of the world!
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