725 women provided shelter at Darul Aman

Experts stress need for awareness campaigns in rural areas to curb violence against women

FAISALABAD: As many as 725 women in Faisalabad were provided shelter in Darul Aman during the current year. The women being provided shelter were fleeing from rape, vani, forced marriages and physical and emotional abuse and were provided temporary shelter on the orders of the court.

Experts and social activists highlighted that illiteracy, forced marriages, poverty and domestic quarrels are some of the reasons behind women being forced to seek shelter. They stressed the need for awareness campaigns in rural areas in order to curb violence against women.

University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Department of Rural Sociology Chairperson Dr Saira Akhtar stated that women, particularly those living in villages, should be provided basic education. “Women can be empowered by giving them basic education and furnishing their basic needs,” she stressed.

Some parents force their teenage daughters to work and marry against their will which leaves them vulnerable. There is a need to abolish such practices, she added.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, a government official said that Darul Aman has been operating in Faisalabad for the past 50 years. The facility consists of 60 beds for women and is equipped with a whole host of facilities needed to make it a sanctuary for distressed women, he explained.

Officials working at the shelter home conduct different activities such as Eid celebrations, awareness sessions, medical camps and other such events.

Darul Aman Faisalabad In charge Sofia Rizwan revealed that during the previous year, around 1,000 women sought refuge at the shelter home after being assaulted by their husbands and family members.

She added around this year 725 women, including 566 married women and 71 women who married of their own free will, sought shelter at Darul Aman

In addition to providing women with a safe place to stay, the shelter home also offers victims recreational facilities and vocational training as well as offering their children basic education so that they are able to stand on their own two feet, she said.

Arrangements for a female psychiatrist, food and classes are also being provided to rehabilitate victims of abuse, she stated. The victim’s children are being provided recreational facilities and schooling, she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30^th, 2019.