According to Dawn newspaper
almost half of the women in Pakistan have suffered from some form of domestic
violence. Most women suffer from domestic violence either by their spouse or her
in laws. One of the main reasons for a women suffering from domestic violence is
infertility. Infertility in Pakistan is mostly though to be due to problems in
women. Hence, the husband or her in laws beat or abuse the women.
The major problem with Domestic violence in Pakistan is that many people find it
acceptable to abuse their wife and that’s why very few people raise voice
against this social issue. But they fail to realize that this eventually results
in lots of mental and physical problems for the women which can result in
serious health complications.
One of the worst things that could happen to women due to domestic violence is
that she may lose her ability to give birth to a child. Sometimes the women are
subject to so much physical abuse that their nervous system gets damaged and
they are deprived of their reproductive ability.
What is even grimmer is that Physical and Mental abuse is only the tip of the
iceberg because these women suffer from several types of domestic abuse with the
major ones in Pakistan being:
1) Dowry Deaths: Dowry is a curse of our culture where the family of the bride
has to give the groom lots of gift and wealth because simply giving their
daughter isn’t enough. However, when the families fail to give dowry to the
groom then the bride is slated through severe beatings as the groom and his
family think that beating the girl is supposed to make up for dowry. In this
regard thousands of women have been killed or even burned alive.
2) Acid attacks: Acid attacks are a prevalent issue in Pakistan where on average
150 women suffer from acid attacks every year. Even though their frequency has
been decreased after new strict regulations and harsh punishments. According to
Acid Survivors Foundation most of the cases of Acid attack are as a result of
escalated domestic abuse.
3) Honor Killings: The worst form of Domestic abuse in Honor killings which is
an issue that is prevalent in the rural areas of Pakistan. Most women who suffer
from honor killings are often alleged to have an extramarital affair which
becomes the basis for their killing.
Overall, Domestic Abuse is a problem which is widespread in Pakistan and unless
the government doesn’t enforce the rules in place the problem will continue to
grow.