Pakistan's real problem with rape

[frigidmagi]

BBC

Women's rights in Pakistan are once again in the international spotlight as delegates attend a high-profile two-day conference on the issue in Islamabad.

One of the key objectives of the talks, according to Pakistan's women's development ministry, is to improve the country's image in the context of women's rights.

But activists argue that crimes against women are not an "image problem".

They say such crimes - especially rape - result from a combination of tribalism, retrogressive cultural values and a criminal justice system in a state of deep rot.

We have a strong policy and programme here which the government is putting across very successfully to combat violence against women

The government of President Pervez Musharraf defends its record and says violence against women is a global problem.

It has repeatedly insisted that it has done more for women's empowerment in Pakistan than any previous administration in the country.

Although planned several weeks ago, the conference comes hot on the heels of new cases of rape involving policemen and tribal councils or jirgas.

Police accused

These cases either involve allegations of rape against policemen or accusations that the tribal bodies have perverted the course of justice.

Earlier this week, a young woman alleged that she had been gang raped by four policemen in Rawalpindi. One officer was arrested and three others are missing.

The woman said the policemen barged into her house, locked her husband and uncle in a room and raped her.

Rape victims often find it difficult to get their cases heard
She was supposedly punished for failing to pay a bribe of 100,000 rupees ($1,674) demanded by the police for the release of her husband.

Last week, a 23-year-old woman from Faisalabad went public with her accusations against police in the city.

She said her husband had been arrested on charges of preparing forged documents for stolen cars.

She was raped allegedly on the orders of the Faisalabad police chief for seeking to publicise her husband's arrest.

The officer has been suspended but not arrested.

A week before that, a married woman with two children in Karachi said she had been gang raped by four local men but a jirga prevented her from reporting the matter to the police.

Instead, the jirga members imposed a fine of 150,000 rupees ($2,500) on the accused. Even that money never reached her, she said.

Hurdles to justice

Apart from the alleged crime, what is common to these women are the problems they have had to confront in their quest for justice.

In the case of one woman from Karachi, the police refused to register a case of rape for over a month - during which time she says she was repeatedly threatened by her rapists.

Mukhtar Mai's courage has inspired many rape victims to go public
By the time she managed to have the case registered, it was too late to conduct a medical examination on her.

In most rape cases in Pakistan, the crime is established almost entirely on the basis of medical examination of the complainant.

Eventually, a case was registered but all the accused were awarded bail despite the fact that the woman identified her rapists before the judge. She eventually had to play what is known in Karachi as the "ethnic card".

She is a Mohajir - a name given to Urdu-speaking migrants from India at the time of partition - while her rapists were native Sindhis.

She went to the headquarters of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) - an influential Mohajir-dominated party - with her case.

It was only after intervention from the MQM's home minister in Sindh that the police launched a fresh hunt for the accused, three of whom had disappeared by then.

Two of them are still at large.

Going public

The case of the woman from Faisalabad is even more striking.

She barged into Pakistan's parliament wearing a veil similar to the ones worn by women representatives of religious parties.

She says she was hoping to find an MP who could help her.

Instead, she was returned to Faisalabad as a criminal who had caused a major security breach.

It was not until her story was given airtime by a private TV channel that the accused officer was suspended.


President Musharraf's government says violence against women is a global problem
Even then, while three separate inquiry committees were set up, a formal case has yet to be registered.

Her lawyer and rights activist Asma Jehangir has described the multiple inquiry committees as "an attempt to subvert justice".

'Strong policy'

For its part the government says its commitment to improving the lives of women is illustrated by their move to pass a law requiring one-third of elected members in all representative bodies - from the National Assembly to local governments - to be women.

In the Faisalabad case, too, it points to the immediate suspension of the accused police officer and simultaneous inquiries at the parliamentary, judicial and administrative levels.

Besides, the government argues, violence against women is worse in many other countries than in Pakistan.

Pakistan's minister for women's affairs, Nilofer Bakhtiar, says the fight for women's rights is making progress.

"We have a strong policy and programme here which the government is putting across very successfully to combat violence against women," she told the BBC.

Inspiration

But in reality little has been done about removing procedural difficulties - which means that rape victims must either rely on the media or non-governmental organisations to secure justice.

There is no institutional infrastructure in Pakistan to help rape victims, no trauma centres or legal aid bodies.

Rape in Pakistan became a high-profile crime after one of the victims, Mukhtar Mai, decided to speak out.

Ms Mai was gang raped allegedly on the orders of a tribal council as punishment for a sexual crime attributed to her brother.

Her case is still pending in the courts but her courage has inspired many rape victims to go public with their stories.

So far the government's response, observers say, has been limited to isolated action in certain cases.

Rights activists hope the conference in Islamabad results in a comprehensive strategy to help such women.

Focusing on the "image" aspect alone is clearly unlikely to help.

Yes, violence against women is a global problem. No, that does not mean you can refuse to do anything about it in your own country or ignore outside critism.

[Mayabird]

Musharraf is an idiot on social issues, especially regarding women. I wouldn't be surprised if immediately after that supposed comment about violence about women being a global problem, he said it would be solved by women staying home and not tempting men. He once said, "You must understand the environment in Pakistan ... This has become a money-making concern. A lot of people say if you want to go abroad and get a visa for Canada or citizenship and be a millionaire, get yourself raped." His cronies tried to shut up Mukhtar Mai, putting her under house arrest and revoking her visa so she couldn't travel out of the country and freed the rapists.