Lately there are some trending
hashtags to be seen on social media such as #JusticeForZainab. After the
Zainab’s case another popular hashtag to be seen is #JusticeForAbida.
Abida Ahmed was a 25-year-old student MA (English) at Faislabad Government
College University. She went missing four days ago on her way to the university.
Her body was fished out of a stream on Wednesday. According to her autopsy
report, her body bore marks of torture because she was raped and strangled to
death. Abida’s family stated that they requested the police to register a case
when she went missing but the police refused and said them to inform them when
she is found. Another non-serious behavior of the Punjab police.
Fear has gripped the second largest city of Punjab as 26 bodies have been found
in past three months.
After the whole chaos of Zainab’s case the people were relieved that there
wouldn’t be other cases like this. A case in which an innocent doesn’t suffer
and a case in which the police caught the culprit on time.Zainab was raped and
she lost her life to make the state wakeup, but it kept sleeping. Now this
heinous news coming from the hometown of RanaSanaullah has struck everyone with
terror when a MA University student was raped and strangled to death.
Rape in Pakistan has been notable and continues to be a tool for suppressing
women in the country, as 93% of Pakistani women experience sexual violence.
Only in January 2018 there are a lot of cases to be observed. A 7 year old girl
Zainab Ansari was raped and strangulated to death in Kasur. The incident caused
nationwide outrage in Pakistan. The same month, a 16 year old girl was raped and
killed in Sargodha, and a day later , in the same city, a 13 year old boy was
intoxicated and sexually assaulted by 2 men belonging to influential family. In
Faislabad, the same day, a 15 year old boy was found dead. The later medical
reports confirmed a sexual assault. Few days later, dead body of a 3 or 4 year
old girl, named Asma, was found in Mardan, who has been reported missing for 24
hours. Her post mortem reports points out that she has been raped before her
murder. These are the only cases of January and there maybe others cases that
might not be reported. Because repe in our society is a taboo, people don’t talk
about it, including the victims themselves.
The question arises here that why is it not stopping? Who should we blame? Who
should we ask for justice? Because it seems like there is no one who would
listen. Everyone is busy in the game of power.
According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), an incident of rape
occurs every 2 hours and an innocent victim is gang raped every 4 to 8 days. The
reports are serious blot on the Islamic society of Pakistan. Pakistan is among
10 worst countries when it comes to rape cases. Why all of this is happening in
a Islamic society? The country is called Islamic Republic of Pakistan but are
there any Islamic teachings being implemented? What kind of society is this in
which girls are being raped and there is no justice for them. This is also
because people had gone away from the basic religious values. Women contain a
great importance in Islam but are they given the same importance in the country?
Women are working in every field as men are but they have not given the equal
rights and respect.
In our male dominant society if the wife is more educated or doing a more stable
job than her husband, her husband will feel pressured by the society. Because
how could a wife be on a higher rank from her husband, the society cannot accept
this.
In our 21st century there are many violence cases, harassment cases, rape cases
in Pakistan. These cases are common in rural areas of Pakistan but they have not
been reported to the police and the families take them as their private matter.
A huge proportion of Pakistani families are educating their daughters but most
of them just wanted to educate them, as education has become a necessity in
life. They donot want their daughters to think about doing jobs or making their
career. Because they have accepted the harsh reality of our society that it is
not safe for their daughters to go outside, they don’t want to send them outside
unless it is necessary. The girls are being sexually harassed in every aspect of
life. Some are being harassed while travelling in public transport, some while
doing their jobs, in their education centers. The honor and dignity of female is
endangered and no women are safe.
As cases like Abidaappears after every passing day, the parents are having
second thoughts to weather to send their daughters to schools and colleges.
They’re terrified as they don’t want their daughters to be another Zainab or
Abida.
For how long the women of Pakistan will suffer? For how long will they suppress
their cries? How long will they hide these heinous truths for the honors of
their father and brothers? How long will the honor-killing considered as private
matter? Are their lives so worthless? And how long the government will turn
blind eye on these issues? Is the notice taken by Shahbaz Sharif or Bilawal
Bhutto enough for us? Why the women in parliament aren’t raising these issues?
Why Marium Nawaz being a mother herself hadn’t done anything about it? Maybe
that’s because it is all about the game of the throne. All the game of power.
That’s all what these politicians wants, no one is willing to be a public leader
as all of them had turn blind eye on the issues from which the people of
Pakistan is suffering.
We live in a society in where if a woman wanted to raise voice for her rights
people called her a “liberal” or “feminist”. A society which teaches you Don’t
Get Raped instead of Don’t Rape.People are willing to talk about some actress
smoking cigarette but they’re not willing to raise their voice for the
discrimination against the daughters of Pakistan. Who are being raped, harassed
by the criminals who’re moving freely in the society. If the leaders aren’t
concerned about our problems then we can resolve our issues by ourselves. Like
how the people pressured the government to catch the criminals of Zainab.
Instead of fighting with each other now is the time for the nation to unite
together and fight for the rights of their daughters, their mothers and for
their sister and for every other woman who is being subjected to those horrific
crimes.
“Freedom cannot be achieved unless the women have been emancipated from all
forms of oppression.” (Nelson Mandela)