Second-class citizens

An influx of recent news regarding femicide and rape against women and girls once again highlights the ever-persistent issue of gender-based violence in Pakistan. One particular detail is striking from current reports - the age of the perpetrators. Many cases that have surfaced in the past few weeks involve juvenile delinquents who have sexually assaulted little girls. In a society where young children are perpetrators against even younger children, the cause is mostly lack of education and awareness.

The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) has now sought the help of the police to curb this surge in violence and rape. NCSW is a statutory board established in 2000 by presidential ordinance, which gained full financial and administrative autonomy through the National Commission on the Status of Women Act, 2012.

The board put forward several solutions to tackle this issue, including enhanced police patrolling, surveillance and preventive measures in high-risk areas. The challenge with this line of thinking is that it places the burden of prevention onto security rather than culture. Undoubtedly, the driving force behind both juvenile cases and femicide cases involving adults is a culture where women are treated as second-class citizens without due power, autonomy and will.

The importance of heightened security and surveillance in areas prone to such violent incidents cannot be denied - but such measures can only go so far. There will always exist a blind spot, a missed moment or a lapse in human monitoring that will create space for violence. Therefore, the only meaningful way in which it can be dealt with in the longer run is through social education. When men cease to look at women as property, or as nothing more than vessels for their desire, crime will automatically cease to exist. Or at the very least, drastically decline.