
Legal gymnastics will now commence, the victim will be abused (again) and her character impugned. There is now DNA evidence in the public domain extracted from blood and hair found on a helmet that was collected at the scene. The blood and hair are from both victim and attacker. The attack was in broad daylight in a public space, had multiple witnesses and was caught on phone-cam. The attacker and his lawyers are reportedly saying that the attack never took place at all.
However the case resolves one thing is evident. Khadija Siddiqui was not the only victim. Every woman in Pakistan that seeks legal redress be it for sexual harassment or as in this case attempted murder, is going to be up against a justice system that is loaded against them from the moment they make their first move. They will be lucky if they can get a case registered, luckier if they can find — or afford — a lawyer and at the top of the lucky pyramid if they can get a conviction. Initially, Khadija had the luck and saw her attacker behind bars. Her luck ran out with Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem in the Lahore High Court. He took 15 minutes to acquit Hussain. Truly a day of infamy.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 6th, 2018.
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