KARACHI- At least 1601 women
were killed in Pakistan in the name of honor or for other reasons in 2013.
According to data provided by the Madadgar National Helpline Founder Zia Ahmed
Awan, at least 370 women were raped while 185 incidents of gang-rape were
reported across the country. He said that 2133 women were tortured during the
same year while 887 faced torture by police. Similarly, 608 women were abducted;
some 406 were forcefully married which included 176 cases of Vani.
He said that 217 women were killed after being raped, 220 of them were killed
after being accused of Karo-kari, and 1164 women were killed for unknown reasons
while 452 committed suicide. Awan added that 193 women were burnt alive, 205
were smuggled and 220 ran away from their houses for different reasons. He said
that at least 6516 incidents of crime against women were reported including 2602
in Punjab, 1883 in Sindh, 1181 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhua, and 864 in Balochistan.
He said that the given figures were compiled from different news reports and
clients coming to the helpline for help. No such data about crimes against women
was available with ministries at provincial and federal level.
He claimed that the given data had only some 10 percent of the incidents in
Pakistan. Women who faced such situations were not able to register their cases
with police due to their behavior, he said adding that women who face torture in
marriage were reluctant to register criminal cases and only insist on divorce.
He said that Pakistan could not progress until 51 percent of the population of
the country is given its due respect and rights.