Along with other crimes, rape cases have risen at alarming level in our society. Hundreds, rather thousands of cases are reported every year while the actual number must be very high as most of the incidents go unnoticed and unreported due to societal taboos and victim-blaming culture.

In his backdrop, the approval of Anti-Rape (Investigation and Prosecution) (Amendment) Bill, 2022 by the Senate Standing Committee, calling for restriction of movement of criminals involved in sex crimes in the country, is a welcome augury. Most importantly it has been approved with majority votes which indicate a change in mindset of our societal thinking.

The Anti-Rape (Investigation and Prosecution) (Amendment) Bill, 2022 has been hailed by  the Human Rights activists across the country as they say it will help bring the perpetrators of the sex crimes of enforced disappearances to face the music.   Sex crimes are rampant in our society and it seems that no place is safe for them which are evident form the rising cases of rape and murder across the country.  

According to latest reports, Pakistan has become the sixth most dangerous country of the world for women.  According to Women rights activists, there is very ow conviction rate of rapists. Just imagine only two percent rapists are convicted in the country, the rest are scot free. The irony is that in our country national leaders like the former PM Imran Khan himself has been blaming the unprecedented rise in such cases on women's dress code.  Last year,  he made headlines when he said that women who do not fully cover up their bodies in front of men are the cause of rise in rape cases as men are not the robots. "Not every man has willpower. If you keep on increasing vulgarity, it will have consequences," former PM Imran Khan said during a television interview. He further said women should adhere to "purdah".

He openly blamed women for tempting men with not wearing proper dresses; His words may embolden the criminals to justify rape and assault of women. It is due to victims blaming that women rape cases are on the rise. A young rape victim was gunned down by her brother in Punjab's tehsil Kot Momin. According to details, the four members of an influential family ganged the young woman and now are scot-free as the police are hesitant to nab them while the victim was murdered in a gruesome manner. 

The circumstances surrounding the murder of this gang-rape victim speaks volume. Just imagine, instead of facing action, the rape suspects were granted pre-arrest bail by the court which speaks volume of the legal procedures in our country. Burdened by such glairing incidents, the criminals are on the rampage in society which is evident from the fact that even teens and toddlers are not safe from the rapists. Recently, another 12-year-old girl was raped in the same locality within the limits of the same police station i.e., Kot Momin P.S. and the suspect made his escape good as usual.

These cases are enough to illustrate the major cause why the crime of rape is so boldly committed in our society.  The reason is victim- blaming and no punishment for the rapists in majority of cases. It is due to victim's blaming  which place the blame on the women for 'bringing' the crime on themselves for wearing inappropriate clothes or moving freely etc. in the society that most victims and their families avoid reporting the  cases to avoid stigma and further torture in the form of slur against the victims which is evident from the existing numbers i.e., with an estimated nine out of 10 cases are not reported or registered.

Most of the cases are brushed aside and buried in the patriarchal society where silencing the victims is norm of the day.   To be very specific, we are living in a misogynistic society where  such mindset should be change for the better. Human rights activists attribute such incidents to the prevailing culture of impunity for gender based violence and crimes which go unpunished most of the times.  They say that women's assault cases may turn into national crisis as there is an unprecedented rise in women's rape and assault cases across the country in recent months. The exact figures of rape cases in the county are not available.

However, according to Human Rights Watch report few years back, one woman is raped every two hours in Pakistan. Punjab is on top of such cases, may be it is the most populous province of the county.  

As per the Research, over 70 cases of rape, including 5 gang-rape cases, were reported in Lahore by February last. Last month, a woman was allegedly tortured and sexually assaulted by a university student in the underpass of the Metro Bus Station in Rawalpindi. Earlier, in September last, a mother of two, who had come from Lahore for a job in Rawalpindi, was allegedly raped in the garrison city. Moreover, a 35-year-old woman along with her teenage daughter - residents of Okara -were raped by a taxi driver.  

Before that, a 51-year old woman from Mazaffargarh in Punjab, was stripped and paraded in the streets. In June last year, three minors including two  girls and boy were molested in separate incidents in Nishatabad, Sargodha and Chank Bhattian Boys areas respectively, The two girls aged 14 and 8 years, had gone in the open to fetch water. The younger sister who is just 8 years old was also stripped and the act was recorded in mobile phone "just for a fun". One is shocked and aghast at the ordeals of such women, who are not safe while performing routine chores in the society.

Published in The Daily National Courier, September, 01 2022

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