On the moving train

Another gruesome attack on a woman took place last week, with news reports earlier this week saying that a ticket checker and other staff on a Multan-Karachi train gang-raped a passenger. The reports quote the FIR as saying that the female victim was travelling in economy class when a ticket checker offered to move her to an air-conditioned compartment. When they reached the compartment, the ticket checker and other train staff gang-raped her. Pakistan Railways clarified that the attackers were not Railways employees — all of them worked for a private company that operates the train. That, however, is little consolation for the victim.

To their credit, Railways police acted quickly in registering the FIR soon after the woman approached them in Karachi and managed to arrest the attackers within a few days. Forensics and health officials have also confirmed the attack took place, and DNA samples of the suspects have also been taken for verification. If there are no hiccups, this should be an open and shut case, hopefully offering the victim speedy justice and closure.

But the audacity of the attack raised further questions about the rights of women to travel safely. While we have seen several attacks on women traveling alone on highways or walking in less-populated areas, trains are relatively well-populated, and it is much harder for attackers to flee from them without leaving some evidence. That these attackers would not only commit the attack on a train but then stay on it, despite being identifiable as staff, shows how far we have to go till we are able to honestly tell women that they will be safe while travelling alone. This, frankly, is a reminder of how poor the performance of our police remains — easily identifiable criminals who may face the death penalty for their offence feel no fear of being caught and being punished for their crimes. Meanwhile, millions of women and girls cannot participate in innocent, absolutely legal, and constitutionally-protected activities because of legitimate concerns about what such men may do.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2022.

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