Traumatising ordeal of woman impregnated by father

How the birth of child helped the victim bring her tormentor to justice

KARACHI:

Some crimes are too disturbing, too sickening, and too sinister to be believable. One such crime involving interfamilial sex abuse came to light last week when a man was convicted of raping and impregnating his biological daughter by a local court in Karachi.

The additional district and sessions judge for District Central sentenced the evil father, Shahid, to 32 years in jail and imposed a fine of Rs200,00 on him for raping, impregnating his daughter and then threatening her to hush up his dark crime.

In the verdict, the judge ruled that the victim had unequivocally identified her father, Shahid, as the perpetrator during her testimony. Moreover, the DNA test conclusively proved Shahid is the biological father of a baby born to his daughter.

According to Prosecutor Hina Naz, the abuse began in 2020 when Shahid sexually assaulted his daughter who lived with her six siblings at the family home. The victim informed her mother about the incident, but she didn't do anything. Emboldened by inaction, Shahid sexually assaulted his daughter multiple times until she became pregnant.

A few months later, the victim gave birth to a child. When she revealed to her mother that the baby's father was Shahid, her mother broke a glass and attacker him - and that was it. Four months after delivering the baby, the victim befriended a man named Waris on Facebook and told him her traumatising ordeal.

Waris married the victim in May 2021 and then the couple filed lawsuit against Shahid. Subsequently, an FIR was registered against Shahid at New Karachi police station.

The prosecution informed the court that in May 2020, when the victim's mother was ill and had been hospitalised, her father had threatened to kill her late at night and repeatedly raped her. "Shahid raped her multiple times, which resulted in her pregnancy," the prosecution stated.

Judicial documents state that the victim's mother "asked her to undergo an abortion, but she refused." In January 2021, the victims, then seven months pregnant, gave birth to a child. At the time of delivery, "when the doctors asked her mother for the father's name, she provided the name of a boy with whom marriage talks were ongoing."

The prosecution told the court that the victim's father had threatened Waris Junaid, warning that he would kill him if he revealed anything about the matter. Junaid told BBC Urdu that when he went to the victim's house to propose marriage, her parents refused. After this, he moved the victim to the home of a friend's sister.

He said that upon this, the victim's parents agreed to the marriage within two days. "There were difficulties in performing the court marriage because my wife did not have any documents - Form B, ID card, or anything else made yet," he recalled. "My parents stepped forward and firmly stated that the boy and girl were ready. If they created obstacles now, they would take legal action and contact police. After that, they were forced to arrange the marriage, and I brought my wife home," Waris Junaid further recalled.

He said that his wife deeply hates her father. "During the case, her mother repeatedly asked her to withdraw the complaint, but she refused to compromise. And since she didn't back down, I fully supported her," he added.

Inspector Aziz Memon, the investigation officer (IO) of the case, said it was an extremely painful matter. "All evidence and testimonies were gathered right at the beginning of the case to ensure the criminal could not escape punishment," IO Memon stated. "However, arresting the accused was challenging. He didn't use mobile phones or other means of communication. We had to conduct raids for several nights to finally apprehend him."

Prosecutor Hina Naz said that no lawyer was initially willing to defend the accused, forcing the court to appoint one. "But once the lawyer learned the facts, he too withdrew from the case." She added that the case lasted three years, during which the accused was provided with another lawyer. The couple have entrusted the child to a trust to secure a better future for him. "After much deliberation, we handed over my wife's son - whose biological father I am not, as proven in court - to a trust. We both visit him occasionally, but my wife only watches him from a distance," Junaid told BBC.