Another rape case

A culture of torture and exploitation is being perpetuated against flood victims who have been rendered homeless and forced to travel to cities to seek refuge. In this regard, the police have recently revealed an incident in which a homeless minor girl from flood-hit Shikarpur — dwelling on a footpath near Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine in Karachi’s Clifton area — was kidnapped and gang-raped by a group of men. She was taken to JPMC by her mother. Initial medical reports have confirmed intercourse along with physical injuries. A FIR of the incident has been lodged and investigation is underway.

It is terrifying to learn that unknown people driving around the city are willy-nilly picking up random minor girls and subjecting them to rape. The victim was, similarly, picked up in a car by two men outside Dolmen Mall prior to the incident. Not only has the criminal justice system including LEAs miserably failed at protecting women and children, particularly with regard to instances of rape, but we as a society have also disintegrated to new moral lows in the past few years.

Rape convictions remain alarmingly low at 0.3%. Either the cases remain pending for years on end or perpetrators are acquitted because of influence of powerful people and loopholes in the relevant legislation. While fierce advocation against rape has led to some important amendments, major reforms are required at a legal as well as at an administrative level to efficiently pursue such cases and provide justice to victims — also necessary as a form of deterrent. This situation also points to the fact that the Sindh government has not provided any form of assistance to flood-affected refugees who remain in vulnerable conditions. Land, resources and provisions should be allocated to these refugees at least for a temporary respite.