Abuse in Faisalabad

Yet another horrific incident of violence against women occurred in Faisalabad where an influential businessman abducted, tortured and sexually assaulted a medical student. The FIR of the crime incident indicates that the victim was a classmate of the accused’s daughter and that the situation got out of hand after she rejected his marriage proposal. Subsequent videos circulating on social media show horrific scenes that prove the ordeal occurred, with the daughter of the accused also partaking in the abuse.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident and a very clear trend has long been existing. Now, social media has allowed a few cases to surface from time to time, but they soon fizzle out or are brushed under the rug by powerful political supporters. This incident is a scathing testament of the general culture of abuse prevalent in Pakistani society, where patriarchal and feudal mindsets coalesce together to give rise to such monsters who use and abuse women and children at will. Those who claim to be the champions of human rights in Pakistan have remained silent during such abuses. The only real power that forces a call to action is outrage on social media which, in this case, pressured the police into arresting the accused while compelling members of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Human Rights to take notice of the barbaric incident. The Faisalabad police has also constituted a special committee to carry out a thorough investigation.

The law must show its iron hand and sternly punish those involved as a form of deterrence. Such barbarians should ideally be rotting in a cell for good. Moreover, officials must not wait for social media backlash and instead constitute a high-powered committee whose sole function is to actively identify trends of abuse and torture against women. This wicked mindset must be dismantled through education and awareness.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2022.

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