Violence against women continues to rise in Pakistan. Amid a rise in gender-based violence, the safety and security of women are a fantasy in Pakistan.
A total of 157 women were kidnapped, 112 women were a victim of physical assault and 91 women were raped across Pakistan in the month of June, according to a report.
The assault on an American vlogger in Dera Ghazi Khan is a case in point. Dera Ghazi Khan police arrested a man accused of gang rape, while an alleged accomplice is on the run, reported The News International special edition on Sunday (TNS).
Arabela Urpi said that she was in the area to visit the Fort Munro hill station when Muhammad Muzammil Sipra and Azan Khosa raped Urpi and made a video recording of the assault to later blackmail her.
“Muzmal Sipra and Azan Khosa sexually assaulted me in a hotel room on the July 17-18 night,” Urpi stated in her complaint.
Arablea Urpi is a vlogger who uploads videos on TikTok about her travels. Urpi said that she had contacted Sipra through a tourist application and had planned on visiting Dera Ghazi Khan to explore its Baloch traditions and culture.
Meanwhile, the Border Military Police have arrested the hotel owner.
The Dera Ghazi Khan BMP commandant stated that the Dera Ghazi Khan DPO had informed the deputy commissioner that he had received a message from the Rahim Yar Khan DPO that a rape incident involving a foreign national at Fort Munro on July 17-18 had been reported.
She told the authorities that she had travelled from Lahore to Rajanpur by bus to stay at Sipra’s residence and had stayed with him from July 13th to 15th. They then travelled to Frt Mounro and stayed at Anmol Hotel from July 16th to 18th.
This is not just one of the cases of violence against women in Pakistan. A disturbing video of a young woman being kidnapped in the poshest of localities in the country’s heartland added to the long, long list of gender-based violence is yet another reminder of the government’s failure, reported Daily Times.
A case has been registered under sections related to car theft. However, the sections related to abduction were not included despite the CCTV footage of the incident.
Much more pertinent than the ongoing conspiracy theories or the wave of gratitude over her escaping relatively unscathed is that none of the authorities has been troubled enough to even react to the flashpoint let alone come up with remedial measures.
Pakistan not believing in fighting for its women, their security and their prosperity is old news, reported Daily Times.
The Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO) and the Centre for Research, Development and Communication (CRDC) compiled a report that pointed out a growing trend in violence against women in Pakistan along with the increasing number of domestic violence cases in the country, the Dawn Newspaper reported.
Last year, Pakistan was placed 153rd ranking on the Global Gender Gap index Given the endless horrors and discomfort that women are forced to live through in a land of men, Pakistan is in the company of sub-Saharan countries (many of which are undergoing existential crises) should not surprise anyone, reported Daily Times.
Moreover, the abysmally low conviction rate allows (read encourages) millions upon millions of women to go missing or get killed.