I am a physician and I can say with full confidence that evidence of rape can survive several days.
LA VERNE, CA, US: This is with reference to Raza Rumi’s article of April 23 titled “Mukhtaran Mai: Pakistan betrayed you once again”. I am a physician and I can say with full confidence that evidence of rape, including signs of torture to various body parts and injury to private parts, can survive several days. The victims clothing can have biological material (if preserved correctly) for several years (not just days) and psychological trauma (if examined by a good psychiatrist) can provide credible clues to the crime even decades after the incident. The mere reason that medical examination was done nine days after the incident does not lessen the severity of the crime. Rather, it shows the gross negligence on the part of the police and prosecution.
Syed Ali
Published in The Express Tribune, April 24th, 2011.
