A jirga in Thull, Jacobabad decided to marry off two minor girls as punishment for their parents’ elopment. According to Aaj News, both the girls are seven years old.
The jirga had decided on the case of Hajira Mangi, a 30-years-old widow and mother, had eloped with a man, Dadu Mangi, who was also married and had daughters. They were accused of committing karo kari.
In order to appease Hajira’s family who said that she had gotten married without their permission, village head Zukfiqar Khan Sarqi was asked to step in and resolve the issue. It was decided that both Hajira’s and Dadu’s daughters from their previous marriages would be wedded off to Hajira’s brothers. Furthermore, the couple were ordered to pay Rs 200,000 as a fine. They paid Rs 50,000 and promised to pay the rest in installments.
According to Aaj News, although jirgas were banned by the Supreme Court in 2019, there has not been a police case filed against the village head or the family for this forced marriage.
When one thinks of Pakistani dramas, we all know what comes to our minds: weddings, divorce, the cheap version of 50 Shades of Grey, more weddings etc. But to distract ourselves from the current mundane pile of breakups, crying and abuse, we can’t forget that kabhi kabar you can find a gem, a refined drama that accurately reflects the stories we want Pakistani drama creators to tell. It’s not often that dramas with original, well crafted stories are brought into the spotlight as they get targeted with endless criticism from right wing critics and are even sent notices for displaying ‘vulgar’ content and soon are forgotten as the next show steps into the spotlight. We have found some dramas that were helmed by prominent women like Bee Gul and Angelina Malick, which shone light on taboos.
1 Kitnay Girhain Baki Hain (2011-2017)
Produced by Angelina Malick and written by Bee Gul, this series was an anthology of short stories that reflected the struggles of women in our society, and explored topics like homosexuality, infidelity, rape etc
2 Cheekh (2019)
When Mannat (played by Saba Qamar) finds out that her closest friend Nayab was raped by her brother-in-law and then murdered for trying to reveal the truth, she strives hard to find justice for her friend in court and in the process, has to face hurdles from her in-laws.
3 Dil Na Umeed Tou Nahi (2021)
Penned by Amna Mufti and produced by Kashf Foundation, the show received several notices from PEMRA for ‘vulgarity’, so that’s even more reason to give it a watch. It delves into the lives of child sex workers, who are kidnapped from their homes and forced to work in prostitution in order to make a living.
4 Dastaan (2010)
Adapted from the novel ‘Bano’ by Rabia Butt, the show explores the trauma caused by Independence, and how it upturned the life of one woman, Bano. Bano and her family lived in India, where her brother supports the cause of the Indian National Congress, and is against the cause of setting up Pakistan. However, when the separation of the two countries was announced in 1947, Bano’s life was completely overturned overnight.
5 Neeli Zinda Hai (2021)
Aman and Sumbul are a married couple who have had stillbirth, and are now trying to restart their lives in a new home. When they shift with their daughter to a new house, the couple keeps hearing noises at night which convinces them that the house is haunted.
6 Manto (2017)
Directed by and starring Sarmad Khoosat, the series was previously released as a film in 2015, and then as a television drama in 2017. The drama revolves around the popular Urdu writer Saadat Hassan Manto, and the last seven years of his life when he had to face charges of obscenity for his short stories like ‘Thanda Gosht’, ‘Peshawar say Lahore’ and ‘Toba Tek Singh’.
7 Talkhiyaan (2012)
Written by Bee Gul, the drama is an adaptation of Arundhati Roy’s acclaimed novel ‘The God of Small Things.’ It revolves around the life of Bibi, who leaves her abusive husband and moves back to her parents home with her two children, Zoya and Jugnu, where her parents criticize her for taking such a stand, but refuse to treat her divorced brother the same way.
Imaan Z Hazir Mazari, the lawyer of the woman who was raped in F- 9 Park, has said that Islamabad Police’s claim of killing the two main suspects in a late-night encounter at a police checkpoint is false.
She further said that the suspects have been found to be involved in 50-rape cases.
#F9Park rape survivor’s lawyer @ImaanZHazir has termed Islamabad police verdict of ‘rapists killed in fire exchange’ as ‘fake encounter/extra judicial killing.’ @drfarzanabari claimed they were found to be involved in 50 rape incidents. For more, read https://t.co/G05bOfuuTn
On Thursday, the Islamabad Police said that the two main suspects in the F-9 Park girl rape case were killed in a late-night encounter at a police checkpoint.
In a series of tweets, the police had claimed that the suspects opened fire on them. In retaliatory firing, the suspects were injured and later succumbed to their injuries.
ناکہ D-12 پر فائرنگ ۔
اسلام آباد ناکہ پر دو نا معلوم مسلح موٹر سائیکل سواروں کی فائرنگ۔ پولیس اہلکاران حفاظتی اقدامات کی وجہ سے محفوظ رہے۔
زخمی حملہ آوروں کو ہسپتال منتقل کیا گیا مگر وہ جانبر نہ ہوسکے۔ شاخت کا عمل جاری ہے۔ سیکیورٹی کے پیش نظر خصوصی ناکے لگائے گئے تھے۔ 1/2
The police said that they were not only involved in the F-9 rape incident but other “serious crimes”. One of the suspects was involved in a deadly mugging, it added.
ناکہ ڈی 12/ملزمان کی پولیس پر فائرنگ۔
مرنے والے حملہ آوروں کی شناخت ہوگئی۔
دونوں ملزمان سٹریٹ کرائم سمیت سنگین جرائم کی وارداتوں میں مطلوب تھے۔ ایک ملزم ڈکیتی کے دوران قتل میں اشتہاری تھا۔
دونوں ملزمان ایف نائن پارک میں لڑکی سے زیادتی کے وقوعہ میں بھی ملوث۔#ICTP#OPS
‘Don’t leave home after sunset’: Rapists tell survivor after raping her, give her Rs1000
On February 4, a woman was allegedly gang-raped by two unidentified armed men in a public park located in Islamabad’s F-9 area.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), two armed men approached the rape survivor while she was with her male coworker in a park in F-9.
According to the FIR, the men separated the woman from her colleague and took them to a neighbouring bush at gunpoint. The suspects beat the young woman up after she pleaded with them to let her go and even offered them money in exchange for her safety.
The rape survivor in the FIR said that after raping her the rapists told her not to leave home after the sunset and also gave her Rs1000.
She further said that the suspects asked her about her relationship with her colleague and slapped her.
Islamabad Police in a tweet said that DNA samples of all the suspects are being collected.
ایف نائن پارک واقعہ۔
وقوعہ کے متعلق سپیشل یونٹ برخلاف جنسی جرائم تفتیش کررہا ہے۔
تفتیش کی نگرانی سی پی او آپریشنز سہیل ظفر چٹھہ کررہے ہیں۔
وقوعہ کے وقت پارک میں موجود لوگوں اور انتظامیہ سے پوچھ گچھ کی جارہی ہے۔
وقوعہ کے متعلق مشکوک افراد کے ڈی این اے بھی لئے جارہے ہیں⬇️۔
In a shocking incident, a young woman was raped by two armed men at the F-9 Park in Islamabad on February 2. According to the 24-year-old victim, she was visiting the F-9 Park along with a male companion around 8pm when two armed stopped them at gunpoint, separated them and then took her towards a thicket and raped her. They also threatened her to remain silent or they would call “more friends” to rape her. After raping her, she was told by the rapists that she should not have been in the park at night. A police complaint at Margalla police station mentioned that the woman had marks of torture on her legs and face. “I was slapped. My hair was pulled and I was thrown on the floor,” the woman’s statement to the police read.
People in Pakistan have expressed anger over the country’s “rape epidemic” and also slammed negligence over such cases of violence against women. Hundreds of protesters gathered in the F-9 park slamming the law enforcement’s response to the assault as they tied their dupattas to the railings in solidarity with the rape victims and survivors.
It was also quite shocking that the Islamabad Police asked people after this incident to only visit well-lit areas in the park when the rapists took the girl to a thicket to rape her at gunpoint. Instead of taking responsibility and providing security to citizens, the police want to restrict people’s movement. As anger and rage engulfed Pakistan over the issue of women’s safety, we still look for answers to whether this will ever end and whether women will find happiness, security and peace in Pakistan. Will victim-blaming ever stop? Will there ever come a time when society and the lawmakers all unanimously stand as one with the victims and survivors? Will the predators of such heinous crimes be punished? Will the war on women ever come to an end?
To the hopelessness and rage that fills our hearts, may women find security, protectiveness and justice in this country. Will Pakistan ever stand with its women? The women are angry, and rightly so as they have been betrayed by their own system, society and law-enforcers.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairperson Imran Khan yet again victim blamed journalist Gharidah Farooqi for being harassed at a rally where she had gone to cover the event.
The former Prime Minister responded: “No. No. No. It wasn’t out of context. Look, in our society, we were . . . it was just in one particular rally where they were all men, and she was right in the middle of this male crowd. It’s just that . . . I mean, anyone who knows Pakistani society, or most sorts of societies like India or Pakistan—if you put yourself in that position, you are going to be vulnerable.”
“It’s just common sense. Yes, the men are to be blamed if they do anything. But also it works two ways, you should all . . . in our society, normally, people would avoid putting themselves in that position. It’s as simple as that,” added Khan.
“We have brilliant women journalists in this country. They are doing a great job. But they don’t have to put themselves in positions—and let me just say, it was a specific situation I was talking about, because we actually tried to get her out of the situation,” said Khan.
Chotiner probed Imran further, stating that there seems to be a certain universalism in Khan’s thinking about democratic government, but, when he speaks about cultural or social issues, about girls’ education or how women respond to being mistreated by men, there’s not so much universalism.
Khan replied, “I’m appalled. I just feel that sometimes the Western press picks up selective things. How can anyone blame women for rape? Tell me, how can any sensible person ever make such a stupid comment? Look, the rapist is always to be blamed. Always. Simple. Full stop. I was looking at the crime charts, and the crime charts reported to me by the police officers showed that sex crimes were going through the roof in my country. So we got to the bottom of it. Why is this happening?”
“In the case of a woman getting raped, she’s marked for life. But even worse is when children get abused; that stays with them for the rest of their life. The ideas that came forward were, one, that we must bring down the level of temptation in our society, because you have a lot of frustrated people. Now, this is coming from civil society. And secondly, how do we educate children in schools to stop this child abuse?”
Khan, in October last year, passed sexist comments about journalist Gharidah Farooqi, saying: “Woh mardon mei ghussay gi toh aisa hi hoga” (If she will enter into men’s sphere, then this is what will happen).
During a meeting with the delegation of the National Press Club and the Rawalpindi/Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ), Khan said that “Farooqi goes into the crowd and then complains that she is being harassed”.
He also said that he will ask his party workers to act appropriately.
Look, Pakistani men: you no longer have a choice. This year, Pakistani women are taking over. And don’t we deserve it. Looking back at 2022, we had to bear the burden of abuse, rape and gruesome murders.
Pakistan faces a gender gap in ways and incidents unimaginable. The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2022 ranked Pakistan at 145 out of the 146 countries ranked on the index. Pakistan was just ahead of Afghanistan, where women can’t go to school and universities. The report gauges how immense the gender gap is in areas, including education, economic participation, health, and political empowerment. Pakistan’s second-last position came as no surprise, at least not for the women in the country.
Women in Pakistan are yearning for the day when our society will learn to provide the strength where it is required and stand with the survivors of sexual assaults, when no one will be afraid to talk about their horrific experiences and when no woman will be blamed for being a victim and celebrated for being a survivor. But until that day arrives, we can all try to bridge the gap and make it better for the women in our country. Our leaders and decision-makers can really try and make an effort to make Pakistan safe for women. It is time to stand up for the ones suffering and give women safe spaces.
We as a country were still dealing with the horrors of the murder of Noor Mukadam and we hadn’t healed, when we witnessed the bone-chilling gruesome murder of Sara Shahnawaz in September at the hands of a man who, too, was raised as a result of the patriarchy.
From glorifying abusers and then giving them awards, the Lux Style Awards (LSAs) became a sorry affair in 2022. The coveted LSAs rolled out nominations for its 21st edition and as soon as the names were dropped, viewers condemned what they felt was an injustice to other artists and women.
So listen up: we hope that 2023 is a year when better sense prevails, we learn from our mistakes as individuals and start to become a country where our women and men are given their due rights and respect.
The body of a seven-years-old girl who was raped and killed, was discovered on Friday from a construction site near Mengal School in the Muslimabad colony of Landhi in Karachi, Dawn has reported.
Malir SSP Irfan Bahadur, while talking to Dawn, said that the girl had gone missing on Thursday around 2 pm while her body was found on Friday. He also said that before taking more legal action, the police will wait for the physician’s reports.
Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed, told Dawn that the body had extensive injuries all over the body, especially the head.
To comply with legal requirements, the body of the minor was moved to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC).
Almost 21,900 women were reported to have been raped in Pakistan from 2017 to 2021, Zahid Gishkori has reported for Samaa. The data has been compiled by SAMAA TV Investigation Unit (SIU) from the Punjab home department and Ministry of Human Rights (MoHRs).
This meant that approximately 12 women were raped every day, or one every two hours, throughout the country.
The Sindh High Court (SHC) has reportedly taken notice of a flood-affected minor girl’s gang-rape in Clifton, Karachi. The heinous incident took place on October 23 (Sunday).
SHC Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh also summoned the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Investigation South-I in a personal capacity.
The minor girl was living in a camp set up for flood victims in Karachi.
After the incident, she was rushed to Jinnah hospital where she remained hospitalised. The girl told the police that two men picked her up and then raped her.
The police surgeon confirmed that the violent crime had indeed taken place and said that child had been given a full medical examination.
According to the Additional Inspectors General (IG) Karachi, the girl and her six younger brothers and sisters were living with her mother in the vicinity of the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi.
On Sunday night, two boys at around 11am forcibly took her in their car and raped her, and then left her in the same vicinity at around 2:30pm.
Clifton SP Ahmed Faisal Chaudhry said the girl’s family was homeless and had set up a makeshift residence on a footpath near Abdullah Shah Ghazi’s shrine in Clifton.
One of the suspects involved in the gang-rape has been arrested after a case was registered.
Following the horrific incident, Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali took serious notice of the case.
An eight-year old girl was allegedly gang-raped by six men in Chiniot, reports ARY. As per the details, all six perpetrators fled away from the scene.
The rape survivor has been shifted to the hospital for medical treatment and tests.
According to the police, the father of the rape survivor filed the complaint. The police have also said that further action would be taken in light of the girl’s medical report.
Almost 21,900 women were reported to have been raped in Pakistan from 2017 to 2021, Zahid Gishkori reported for Samaa. The data has been complied by SAMAA TV Investigation Unit (SIU) from the Punjab Home Department and Ministry of Human Rights (MoHRs).
This means that approximately 12 women were raped every day, or one every two hours, throughout the country.
Almost 21,900 women were reported to have been raped in Pakistan from 2017 to 2021, Zahid Gishkori has reported for Samaa. The data has been complied by SAMAA TV Investigation Unit (SIU) from the Punjab home department and Ministry of Human Rights (MoHRs).
This meant that approximately 12 women were raped every day, or one every two hours, throughout the country.
As many as 305 rape cases were reported nationwide in 2022, in media, while 57 cases were reported in May, June (91), July (86) and August (71).
According to media reports, approximately 350 rape instances were recorded in Punjab, between May 2022 and August 2022, however there was no information available for the first four months of the year.
The Current records the tally of rape cases that are reported in news outlets on a daily basis to highlight the alarming situation. We have used many different sources as listed. When will it stop?
