Blasphemy, honour killing, domestic violence, patriarchy continue to supress women rights in Pakistan
Religious extremism and mob hooliganism in Pakistan have not only denied basic rights to women but even led to their inhuman harassment that at times caused deaths. Pakistani women have been subjected to honour killings, molestations and rapes, and tortures citing blasphemy laws. Even the women who try to exert their rights through events like the ‘Aurat March’ are threatened, harassed, and even attacked.
Recently, a woman in Lahore had a close encounter with death after a mob mistook calligraphy on her dress for Quranic verses. Had a female police official not acted swiftly, the woman would have been killed by the frenzied mob of over 300 men.[1] The brave police official has received accolades for saving the woman mistaken for Blasphemy. Pakistan’s army chief called her a “fearless officer.”[2] She also received a royal invite from the Saudi government.[3]
This however speaks volumes about the horrific situation of many Pakistani women and minorities, who are vulnerable to blasphemy-related abuses. Both the army and civil government of Pakistan could be seen always going soft on religious radicals, and rather encouraging blasphemy and inhuman punishments.[4] Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif had in 2023 made the blasphemy law harsher.[5]
Former prime minister Imran Khan too had defended the barbaric law earlier for political convenience.[6] Earlier, the army had overstepped its constitutional role and coaxed the Islamabad government into accepting the demands of the hardliners protesting for stricter blasphemy laws.[7] The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended designating Pakistan as a “Country of Particular Concern.”[8]
In 2010, a farm labourer named Asia Bibi was charged with blasphemy laws after her neighbour alleged that she insulted Prophet Muhammed during a squabble over water sharing.[9] She was given death punishment, which was later revoked by the country’s apex court. Another woman from Ahmediya community was arrested over blasphemy charges in 2020.[10]
There has been an uproar over the rising cases of molestation and rape as activists blamed the government for going slow in punishing the culprits. “There is a rape epidemic in the country, and it is growing,” said human rights lawyer Osama Malik.[11] The conviction rate in the cases of rapes and sexual attacks is less than 3 percent.[12] A poll conducted by Thomson Reuters Foundation showed Pakistan was the sixth most dangerous country for women.[13]
In 2021, a social media influencer was sexually molested by about 400 men when she was filming a TikTok video at the Minar-e-Pakistan monument on the country’s Independence Day.[14] Pakistani senator Sherry Rehman said the violence against women had worsened in Pakistan. “Most cases are mostly either ignored, buried or brushed aside in the patriarchal culture of silencing the victim,” she said.
Many Pakistani women were killed over trivial issues like posting photos with unrelated men on social media or marital quarrels.[15] Amnesty International said honour killings continue to happen abated despite legal protection.[16] Pakistan has a long history of the struggle against gender-based violence and it feels as if violence against women has reached epidemic proportions, said Dr Nida Kirmani, an associate professor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.
Kirmani expressed concerns over the Pakistan government’s decision to block the Domestic Violence Bill by sending it to the Council of Islamic Ideology for review.[17] Women in Pakistan are holding protests seeking protection their rights and an end to their harassment. They have been holding Aurat March – Urdu for Women’s March- on International Women’s Day since 2018. The march however met with bullying, threats and attacks from the patriarchal society and religious extremists.[18]
Even the police force was used against the peaceful women protesters. Expressing anguish, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said “We are also concerned by reports that religious organizations have tried to hinder women from taking part in the march.” [19] Zohra Yousaf, a former chairperson of the HRCP said “In a country like Pakistan, when women try to break barriers, the patriarchy in the society tries to stop them by employing the violent tool of rape.”.[20]
Pakistan’s constitution has granted all basic rights to women, and they can raise their voices in favour of their demands. However, they are unable to do it thanks to the domination of religious extremists and the incapability of Pakistan’s civil government, judiciary and army to ensure basic rights for women. “The fact that Pakistan’s legal system includes death penalties for blasphemy speaks volumes— the country values strict adherence to extreme interpretation over individual freedoms,” said columnist and researcher Amana Begum.[21]
END.
[1] https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/south-asia/pakistan-blasphemy-woman-dress-arabic-b2502958.html
[2] https://www.dawn.com/news/1817801/selfless-devotion-to-duty-coas-lauds-lahore-cop-for-saving-woman-in-arabic-print-shirt-from-mob
[3] https://humnews.pk/latest/asp-shehrbano-naqvi-to-get-royal-treatment/
[4] https://www.oasiscenter.eu/en/blasphemy-as-a-weapon-of-mass-destruction
[5] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/21/world/asia/pakistan-blasphemy-laws.html
[6] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/09/imran-kahn-accused-over-defence-of-pakistan-blasphemy-laws
[7] https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1DS0QK/
[8] https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/USCIRF%202020%20Annual%20Report_Final_42920.pdf
[9] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/28/asia-bibi-pakistani-woman-jailed-for-blasphemy-claims-asylum-in-france
[10] https://www.uscirf.gov/news-room/releases-statements/uscirf-condemns-arrest-ahmadi-muslim-blasphemy-charges-pakistan
[11] https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/feb/09/pakistan-rape-epidemic-woman-attacked-park-islamabad
[12] https://news.trust.org/item/20210217235826-byuqy/
[13] https://www.arabnews.pk/node/1835591/pakistan
[14] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9925335/Woman-sexually-abused-HUNDREDS-men-Pakistan-making-TikTok-video-park.html
[15] https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-womens-deaths-honor-killings/32708708.html
[16] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/11/pakistan-authorities-must-intensify-pressure-to-end-impunity-of-tribal-councils-as-honour-killings-continue-unabated/
[17] https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/10/8/violence-against-women-in-pakistan-is-not-new-but-it-must-stop
[18] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51748152
[19] https://www.brecorder.com/news/40230377
[20] https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Society/Crime/Pakistan-rape-case-turns-harsh-spotlight-on-misogyny-justice-system
[21] https://theprint.in/opinion/pakistan-is-hell-on-earth-for-women-minorities-mobs-are-demanding-beheadings-for-blasphemy/1984960/
