Protecting the ‘weaker’ sex: ‘More laws needed to prevent crimes against women’

Situation can't improve unless there is justice, says Madadgaar Helpline's Zia Awan.

KARACHI: In fear of a more violent year for women in 2014, social activist Zia Awan stressed that the government should do more to enforce women-related acts in the country.

At a press conference held on Friday, in connection with the International Women's Day being celebrated today, Awan, who is the president of Madadgaar National Helpline said, "Every year, violence cases against women keep on increasing. The situation can't improve till there is justice."



According to the helpline, around 6,512 cases of violence against women were reported last year, out of which Punjab had the highest number of cases at 2,602, followed by Sindh with 1,883 cases, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 1,181 cases and Balochistan with 846 cases.

The lawyer said that 90 per cent cases were not reported as victims hesitate from going to police stations due to their biased attitude. The data stated that 2,133 women and girls were tortured, out of which 887 were tortured by the police. Last year, around 1,164 women were killed over multiple reasons, around 608 females were kidnapped and 460 were forced into marriages.

As many as 452 females committed suicide, 370 were raped while 220 were killed in honour killings. Around 220 women ran away from their homes for different reasons. The number of women and girls who were abducted, raped and killed was 217. Around 205 women were trafficked, 195 women were burnt while 185 became victims of gang-rape. According to Awan, the laws passed in the last few years for the protection and safety of the women should be implemented by the government instead of just being kept in books.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2014.