The Rawalpindi police have arrested a school teacher for allegedly raping a seven-year-old student, reports Tahir Naseer for Dawn.
Police spokesperson Sajjadul Hassan told Dawn that the suspect was taken into custody on Wednesday night.
The case was registered at Saddar Wah Cantt police station on the complaint of the victim’s mother.
According to the first information report (FIR) registered on November 16, the mother said her daughter, A*, aged six or seven, was subjected to rape when she was at school.
The complainant said she took her daughter to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital for a medical examination but was told by the hospital staff to come back with the police.
“I request that justice be provided to my daughter by initiating legal proceedings against the school teacher,” the mother requested in the FIR.
Potohar Division Superintendent of Police Tasawar Iqbal said a “zero-tolerance policy” on violence, abuse and harassment against women and children was being ensured.
Pakistan has been plagued by episodes of rape and abuse over the years that it has now become common to the extent that people have started normalising such acts.
Back in 2002, Mukhtaran Mai’s gang-rape was one of the most horrifying gang-rape incidents that were reported.
Another major incident that took place in 2014 was the Layyah gang-rape case, where a 20-year-old girl after being gang-raped, was found hanging from a tree. Such inhumane incidents haven’t stopped even now.
Two men stole her money and the jewellery she had on her. They then raped her in front of her two children in a nearby field and escaped.
The incident sparked national outrage but what happened next? Before the arrest of the two culprits, questions like “Why was she out on the motorway so late without a brother or husband? Why didn’t she check her gas tank before leaving the house? And if she had to travel, why didn’t she take the more public GT Road route?” were asked because, sadly, in our country ‘getting raped’ is the woman’s fault. Apparently, a woman gets raped because ‘she was driving alone, on the wrong road, at the wrong time, in the wrong place’.
Later, the motorway rapists were sentenced to death but rape cases continued to rise in Pakistan.
On October 12, 2020, our team started counting rape cases on a daily basis from 13 different sources, which included these newspapers: Dawn, The News, The Express Tribune, The Nation, Pakistan Today, Daily Times, Nawa-e-Waqt, Daily Jang. And from these websites: ARY News, Geo News Samaa News Dunya News Aaj News.
It is to be noted that the given stats only include the reported incidents, not the ones that go unreported.
During the process, we have included reported rape cases of girls, boys, women, men and transgenders. Moreover, we have divided the rape cases province-wise, according to which Punjab till date has the highest number of rape cases, i.e. 936 rape cases and 44 attempted incidents.
It has been a year since we have started posting our rape template daily to analyse the record of reported rape cases. We have collected the data of the entire year (October 12, 2020 to October 12, 2021) and prepared slides of reported cases of each month provinces-wise.
Provinces Categorisation:
Sindh
Till date, Sindh has recorded a total of 60 reported rape cases in which 10 are attempted incidents. 11.6 per cent of cases were reported in the month of April and August as per the graph.
Punjab
Punjab has recorded a total of 936 reported rape cases in which 44 are attempted incidents until now. 13 per cent of cases were reported in August.
Islamabad
The capital has recorded a total of 13 reported rape cases which no attempted cases until now. The reported cases are relatively low as compared to other provinces’ data. However, 38.46 per cent of rape cases were reported in June this year.
Balochistan
Balochistan has reported a total of 11 reported rape cases. Most of the months show zero reported rape cases, according to the graph.
KPK
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) has reported a total of 20 reported rape cases of which 2 were attempted incidents. The numbers throughout the months are quite the same.
Deaths (province-wise)
As per the graph, the death rate was high in the month of January i.e.14.5 per cent.
Numbers of the recorded cases after the highlighted incidents of 2021
After the following incidents, we noticed an increase in the reporting of rape cases.
Mufti Aziz-ur-Rehman: sexual assault case
On June 17, police registered a criminal complaint against Mufti Aziz after a male student accused him of sexual abuse. In the aftermath of a viral graphic video that showed Mufti engaging in sexual intercourse with the male student, who was the victim, the action was taken against Mufti Aziz. After the incident, we noticed an increase of 10.7 per cent in the reporting of rape cases in the month of June.
Usman Mirza’s sexual assault on a couple
Usman Mirza was arrested on July 7. He was seen torturing and assaulting a couple. He was also seen stripping naked a woman in the video. The video sparked outrage across Pakistan. After the petrifying incident, an increase of 9 per cent was observed in the reporting of rape cases in the month of July.
Noor Mukadam’s murder case
On July 20, Noor Mukadam, daughter of former Pakistani diplomat Shaukat Mukadam, was raped, beheaded and murdered, in a posh neighbourhood of Islamabad in July. Noor’s murder led to nationwide protests. After her murder, as per the reported cases we have monitored, there was an increase of 12.6 per cent in the month of August.
There are many more cases that are still unreported due to various reasons.
According to The News, official statistics obtained from the Police, Law, and Justice Commission of Pakistan, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Women’s Foundation, and provincial welfare agencies in 2020 revealed that there are at least 11 rape cases reported in Pakistan every day with over 22,000 rape cases reported to the police across the country in the last six years.
The Insitute of Business Administration (IBA) reinstated Mohammad Gibrail, a student who was expelled by the university administration a week ago for speaking out against the alleged harassment incident on social media.
The decision was taken by IBA’s Executive Director (ED) of the institution S Akbar Zaidi after hearing the appeal against the Disciplinary Committee’s decision, which took place on September 29. Zaidi reinstated Gibrail as a student with immediate effect, as per Geo News.
Jibran Nasir, the lawyer for Gibrail, confirmed that the student had been reinstated. He tweeted, “Congratulations to all students! Gibrail’s admission on appeal to [IBA, ED] has been restored unconditionally,” adding that the ED had also “committed reforms to make IBA safer, give students representation in admin affairs and expeditious and transparent inquiry into the harassment case”.
Congratulations to all Students! Jibrael’s admission on appeal to @EDIBAKarachi has been restored unconditionally. Furthermore, ED has also committed reforms to make #IBA safer, give students representation in admin affairs & expeditious & transparent inquiry into Harassment case pic.twitter.com/mG4rEMDXxj
During the hearing, Gibrail reaffirmed his respect for the IBA and the Executive Director and reportedly withdrew those parts of his appeal which were unrelated to his expulsion.
On August 25, Gibrail had reported the alleged sexual harassment incident on a public Facebook post. He stated, “This was actually the incident of workplace harassment that took place in front of my eyes in IBA’s Finance Department where I saw a person whom, I inquired his identity late, named Tanveer yelled at a female employee of IBA in that Finance Department and burst on her.”
After this, students of IBA started protesting against the administration to take notice of this issue. Despite looking into the matter, IBA’s Disciplinary Committee expelled Gibrail a few days after the incident.
Islamabad Police announced a one-month comprehensive self-defence course for females, which includes physical training, armed training and assault course.
Islamabad Police Is All Set To Start ” “ Empower yourself by learning combat skills, weapon handling, defensive driving and much more because we believe in stronger YOU!
The classes will be three days a week from 4pm-7pm and cost Rs 30,000. The registration is currently open via an online application form.
The course offers all women to develop the ability to defend themselves and to initiate a culture of resilience among the female community of the country.
Since the Minar-e-Pakistan incident, the number of sexual harassment cases has increased up to 300 per cent in Lahore.
A police report stated that during the past 1.5 months, 642 cases of sexual harassment were registered under sections 354, 354-A and 509-B as compared to the number of incidents up to less than 150 that had been reported before August 14, reports ARY News.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Shariq Jamal Khan said that the ratio of harassment cases was high in the past but previously people used to avoid registering cases.
He added that the actions related to the accused in the incident of Greater Iqbal Park have encouraged the women to report such cases. He said that the authorities will take strict action in such cases.
According to the case record and police report submitted in court, Mufti Aziz-ur-Rehman was found guilty of raping a madrassa student in Lahore, reports Samaa.
The suspect’s bail plea at the Cantt Court on Tuesday was heard by Judicial Magistrate Rana Arshad. The investigation officer requested that his bail request should be rejected.
Magistrate Arshad summoned the lawyers of both parties for arguments and has adjourned the hearing till September 10.
Previously, Mufti Aziz confessed that the video was not fake and said that he was secretly filmed by his student.
The victim in his statement said that Mufti Aziz accused him of cheating in his exams after which he was banned from taking the exams for three years. Mufti Aziz then asked the student to “make him happy” in order to get the ban lifted.
When the video of Mufti Aziz’s sexual abuse went viral on social media, he was arrested on June 16.
Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari, while presenting a report on the Minar-e-Pakistan incident to the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights, has said that there should be a specific time slot for women to visit parks and men should not be allowed in during that time.
“Why are restrictions being imposed on women?” questioned Mazari.
“It has been observed that most of the problems are caused by the youth. Curbs should be imposed on them to teach the youth a lesson,” she added.
In an update on the case, three suspects have confessed to assaulting Ayesha Akram at Minar-e-Pakistan. In addition, a total of five suspects have been identified by Ayesha Akram, Geo News has reported.
Actor Yashma Gill has blamed the “400 men” for the mob attack on Ayesha Akram at Minar-e-Pakistan.
The Pyar Ke Sadqay actor recently appeared on Gup Shup with FUCHSIA and talked about the increasing crimes against women in Pakistan, particularly Ayesha’s mob attack. “Why are we victim blaming the survivor? Those men had the free will to chose between right and wrong and they chose wrong,” stated the actor.
“She (Ayesha) may have planted some men but some might have the conscience not to do that,” added the Qurban actor.
She went on to say that some of her co-actresses said that Ayesha must have thought about her dressing before going there, “I stopped them right there and said that if women are to cover themselves then men should also lower their gaze according to Islam.”
The Alif star further said that nobody can say that she incited men to assault her, one should know whether somebody incites you, try not to be incited by that individual.
On the work front, Yashma can be seen currently in ARY’s Aazmaish opposite Fahad Sheikh, Furqan Qureshi and Kinza Hashmi.
A Lahore session court, on Saturday grantedpre-arrest bail to a suspect, identified as Shehroz Saeed, who was allegedly involved in the horrendous mass sexual assault case at Minar-e-Pakistan on August 14.
The bail is until September 3. According to Saeed’s lawyer, he is ready to cooperate with the authorities, and therefore, the court should direct police authorities to refrain from arresting him.
Further developments
Lahore police have arrested 66 people through geo-fencing, face matching, and conducted raids at 26 different places so far, confirms Government Spokesperson Shahbaz Gill.
The police officer said that the woman who was attacked, Ayesha Akram, and her colleagues will identify the suspects during the parade and the remaining suspects.
Ayesha Akram was attacked by 400 men when she was trying to record a video with four of her friends to celebrate Independence Day.
میرے خیال سے دو مہینے ہو گئے ہیں ۔ میں روز جاگتی ہوں ،روز ایک عورت سے متعلق دل دہلا دینے والی خبر ہوتی ہے ۔ میں اس خبر کے خوف میں رہتی ہوں ، واویلا مچتا ہے ، بحث ہوتی ہے ، گرفتاری ہوتی ہے ، اور اس کے ساتھ ہی سارا الزام عورت پر ہی لگ جاتا ہے ۔ اس پوری روٹین میں ایک دن بھی فرق نہیں آیا ۔ میں اس پورے سلسلے میں ایک ہی چیز پر حیران ہوتی ہوں اور وہ ہے مرد کا چیخنا چلانا ۔ مطلب تشدد بھی عورت پر ہوا ، قتل بھی عورت ہوئی ، عزت بھی عورت کی لٹی ، لیکن واویلا صرف مرد مچا رہے ہوتے ہیں ۔ عورتوں کو ایک عورت کے بارے میں ہی بات کرنے کی اجازت نہیں کیونکہ وہ اجازت بھی شاید مرد ہی دینا چاہتے ہیں ۔ مرد کی چونکہ عزت کے خلاف ہے اپنی غلطی ماننا تو یہ قدرتی بات ہے کہ وہ روئے گا ، چلائے گا ، اور عجیب وغریب دلیلیں بھی دے گا ۔ جہاں تک میں نے دیکھا ہے ، مرد کی برداشت کے 5 مرحلے ہیں۔ آپ چاہیں تو اس میں اضافہ بھی کر سکتے ہیں ۔
پہلا مرحلہ ہوتا ہے جہاں مرد کہتے ہیں “دنیا میں پاکستان سے زیادہ عورت کی عزت کہیں نہیں ہوتی “۔ یہ ہمارے وزیرِ اعظم بھی کہتے ہیں ۔ جب ہم عورتیں یہ کہتی ہیں کہ کہاں کی عزت جب روز کسی عورت کی عزت لٹتی ہے یا عورت کا قتل ہوتا ہے تو اس پر مرد کہتے ہیں ” ہم اتنی عزت کرتے ہیں آپ کی ۔ تندور پر جو قطار بنی ہوتی ہے ، ادھر ہم عورتوں کو پہلے روٹی دیتے ہیں “۔ یا پھر” جب عورت اے ٹی ایم پر جاتی ہے تو ہم اسے پہلے پیسے لینے دیتے ہیں ” اتنی تو عزت دیتے ہیں ، تو کیا ہوا اگر تھوڑا مار لیا یا قتل کر دیا؟ اور کیا چاہتی ہیں آپ، اور کیا حقوق چاہئیں ہیں آپ کو ؟
پھر مرد آتا ہے دوسرے مرحلے کی جانب ۔ اس میں وہ کہتا ہے پوری دنیا کے مقابلے میں پاکستانی عورت پاکستان میں محفوظ ہے ۔ جب عورتیں کہتی ہیں کہ کہاں محفوظ ہیں ؟ کبھی عورت کو کوئی ہاتھ مار جاتا ہے ، کبھی عورت پر 400 مرد حملہ کر دیتے ہیں ، کبھی عورت کے پیچھے گاڑی لگ جاتی ہے ، کہاں محفوظ ہے؟ اس پر مرد حضرات کا جواب ہوتا ہے ” تو نہ جائیں باہر ” یا پھر وہ کہتے ہیں “ہاں تو کچھ کیا ہوگا ، کپڑے ٹھیک نہیں ہوں گے ، یہ نہیں ہوگا ، وہ نہیں ہوگا ” ۔ مرد اِس بات کو سمجھ ہی نہیں پاتے کہ عورت میں کچھ نہیں ہوتا ،ساری غلاظت ان کے ذہن میں ہوتی ہے ۔ سارا کا سارا گند ان کے دماغ میں ہروقت رچا بسا رہتا ہے جس کی وجہ سے نہ وہ سیدھا سوچ پاتے ہیں اور نہ ہی کچھ سیدھا کر پاتے ہیں ۔
پھر آتا ہے تیسرا مر حلہ جس میں وہ کہتے ہیں کہ عورت نے خود کروایا ہے تاکہ وہ ملک سے باہر جا سکے ۔ یا پھر انڈیا نے فلاں فلاں کو پیسے دے کر یہ کروایا ہے تاکہ پاکستان کو بدنام کیا جا سکے ۔اور اس مرحلے پر مرد کی آواز کافی اونچی ہو جاتی ہے ، صبر کا پیمانہ لبریز ہورہا ہوتا ہے ، وہ سارا غصہ جو ان کو عورت کے “ہونے ” پر ہے، وہ اندر کھولنے لگتا ہے ۔ یہ کہنا غلط نہ ہوگا کہ “مرد ایک نازک موڑ سے گزر رہا ہوتا ہے” جدھر اسے ہارٹ اٹیک ہو سکتا ہے یا پھر گردے بھی فیل ہو سکتے ہیں کیونکہ خدا نخواستہ وہ کیسے مان لے کہ غلطی مردوں کی ہے ؟
چوتھا مرحلہ وہ ہوتا ہے جس میں وہ آپ کو یاد کرواتے ہیں کہ آپ کے ابو آپ کا بھائی یا آپ کا خاوند بھی مرد ہے ۔ صبر کا زہر پی کر وہ آپ کو کہتے ہیں کہ “اگر مرد اتنا برا لگتا ہے تو ابو کو بھی مار دو ” خدا کی قسم ، اس نکتے پر میری اپنی ہنسی نکل جاتی ہے کہ آخر یہ مرد کیوں اتنا مجبور ہے اپنی انا کےہاتھوں، آخر مسئلہ کیا ہے؟
پھر آتا ہے پانچواں اور آخری مرحلہ جس میں مرد کہتا ہے ” میری ہو گئی ہے بس کاٹ دے میری کوئی نس “۔ اس مرحلے میں اسے پہلے دو مرحلے جس میں وہ عورت کے محفوظ ہونے اور عورت کو عزت دینے کے نعرے کو بھول جاتا ہے ۔ اس کے اندر کا وہی درندہ جاگ جاتا ہے جو نور کے قاتل ظاہر میں ہے ، ان 400 مردوں میں ہے جو عورت پر جھپٹ پڑتے ہیں ، اوران مولویوں میں ہے جو مدرسوں میں بچوں کو بھی نہیں چھوڑتے ۔ مرد آپ کو ایسی گالیاں دے گا کہ آپ کو یا تو سمجھ نہیں آئے گی کہ یہ کہا کیا ہے یا پھر آپ صدمے میں چلی جائیں گی یہ زبان ہے عورت کو “عزت ” دینے والے کی ۔ ان 5 مرحلوں میں آپ عورت ہوتے ہوئے محسوس کریں گی کہ مرد خاموش نہیں ہوگا ، ایک سیکینڈ کے لیے بھی منہ بند نہیں کرے گا ۔ وہ آپ کو بات کرنے ہی نہیں دے گا ۔ کیونکہ وہ جانتا ہے کہ اگر اس نے خدا نخواستہ سن لیا ، تو وہ سوچنے لگ جائے گا ۔ اگر اس نے سوچ لیا ، تو شاید اس کو عورت کی بات ٹھیک لگنے لگے گی ۔ اس ٹھیک لگنے پراسے شاید شرم بھی آ جائے ، اور شاید اسے معافی بھی مانگنی پڑے ۔ جیسے ہی معافی کا لفظ ذہن میں آئے گا مرد پھر سے وہی درندہ بن جائے گا !
اس لیے میری بہنوں ! آپ کی جنگ جائز ہے ۔ آ پ کا بار بار آواز اٹھانا جائز ہے ۔ لیکن یہ مت بھولیں کہ اگلے کے لیے غلطی ماننا ناجائز ہے !
