No safe place for women

In the absence of strong laws, catcalling, groping and wolf-whistling against women rampant

ISLAMABAD: While the world is striving toward attaining gender equality in every aspect of life, life for women in some parts of the world is nothing short of an ordeal. Same is the case with women in Pakistan, where they have to face various forms of sexual harassment daily, especially when they are out on the streets.

Even in the federal capital of the country, women have to endure the menace of street harassment every day when they step outside of their homes to seek education, go to work or to perform their domestic chores.

“Every day while crossing the road on my way to university, people stop or slow down their cars for catcalling,” a female student from the Allama Iqbal Open University, who requested anonymity, told The Express Tribune.

“That’s not all but whenever men see girls crossing the road, they speed up instead of slowing their cars down to harass and intimidate us.”

The situation has worsened because there is no strict implementation of the laws in the country to stop people from harassing women on the streets. As a result, women do not feel safe to go out without being chaperoned by a male family member.

“There are many women out there who do not have male family members to accompany them all the time. Since Pakistani men don’t look at others’ sisters, daughters and mothers with respect, the state should enact strong laws to protect us,” another student named Anila added.

Likewise, Kulsoom Khan – a 28-year-old teacher – said that she has to listen to lewd comments from men every day while waiting at the bus stop.

“Sometimes, they pass inappropriate comments and often ask us to sit in their cars. Some people think that the solution to such problems is to confine women to the four walls of the house, while others think that women must not go out unaided,” Kulsoom said. “Instead of blaming men for their misconduct, people tell women to ‘mend’ their ways.”

Similarly, Maria, a student at Shifa College of Medicine in Islamabad, revealed that she is catcalled on the streets even though she fully covers herself in a burqa.

“It is not about what a woman is wearing but the mentality of men, as well as the absence of stringent harassment laws, that has aggravated the situation,” she said.

“We pride ourselves on being an “Islamic country,” but look how people treat women here.

This is totally against the teaching of our beautiful religion,” another student named Nighat said.

She added that women are also human beings and should be respected instead of being treated like objects of sexual gratification.

Shedding light on the issue, senior advocate Waqar Abbasi said that the government should ensure the strict implementation of laws to curb the menace of street harassment so that our daughters and sisters feel safe on the streets.

“If anyone is found to be involved in street harassment, he should be strictly punished,” he suggested. “Besides, female police personnel should be deployed at police posts and complaint cells should be set up at all business centres and outside educational institutions so that it women can lodge complaints as soon as possible.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2020.