Skardu incident: Justice sought for teenage rape victim

ISLAMABAD:

Students from Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) staged a protest against the alleged rape of a 16-year-old girl in Skardu. 

Protesters gathered outside the National Press Club (NPC) on Wednesday said that if justice was not delivered, the incident could discourage girls from going to school.

The demonstrators demanded that the government and human rights organisations provide support to the girl. The alleged victim is a first-year college student who was picked up when she was on her way home from school. A first investigation report (FIR) was lodged against the suspects at the local police station. This is the first time a case of this nature has been reported in Skardu.

Syed Haider Abbas, a protester, said that ignoring the incident would open the door for oppression of women.

Safeer Mehdi, another demonstrator, said that the government must provide justice to the victim so that such cases are not repeated. He said that school-going girls should be able to do so with a sense of security. Protesters also chanted slogans in favour of women rights.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2015.