The non-implementation of the laws created for the protection of women keep them forever in virtual slavery.
The dismal situation, despite several laws namely the Women’s Protection Act, the Acid Control and Crime Act, the Protection Against Harassment at Workplace Act, theLaw of Inheritance and the ratified Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women; clearly shows the challenges being faced by women in today’s Pakistan. Structural biases in the justice systems, particularly traditional police attitude and complex judicial systems are the top twin hindrances that stop majority of women from reporting injustices meted out to them.
Women in Pakistan frequently come off worse when it comes to punishment. Gender-biased practices and discriminatory attitudes have become social norms which have even gained the status of religious dictates. Islam, in its original doctrine and essence, promotes equal recognition and respect for both women and men, and yet deceptive interpretations of religious precepts are too often referred to as justifications for unjust verdicts. As a result of centuries of patriarchal mindsets and inequalities, the boundaries between religion, tradition and gender-based violence and discrimination have become an intricate grey area.
In a country where women are victims of domestic violence, discriminated against on the basis of their sex, sexually abused without any hope of redress from the government, and lessening of their existing rights have all compelled them instead to survive in the patriarchal society and are made the victims of acid attacks, lack of access to education, denied of freedom of expression and movement and voting rights.
Pakistan is a country where women are victims of ‘Jirgas‘, illegal courts where young women and even minor girls are traded off in settlement of feuds – where the local elders have the power of life and death over them. The customs of ‘Winni‘ and ‘Sawara‘ (the tradition of trading girls in exchange) are treated as Islamic law and the civil courts are not interested in getting involved.
Pakistani women are burned alive, buried alive, and beaten mercilessly. And when the survivors are able to seek help and assistance of the authorities, often the authorities return them to their torturers. Honour killings of women suspected of dis-honouring their tribe and failing to adhere to customs occur frequently and it is rare for authorities to act against the perpetrators.
It’s a common practice that women are used as pawns by the police to obtain confessional statements from suspected criminals, women face both physical torture and humiliation by supposed guardians and enforcers of the law and order. It is not uncommon for wives and daughters to be stripped naked and paraded in front of their husbands and fathers. They are even raped in front of their husbands and fathers to force confessions from the men.
The women are treated as chattels and have even less value than animals, and are often handed to feudal lords to be used as they desire. The government has shown its inability to offer protection and respect their right to life and dignity. When the girls are able to escape they often commit suicide. If they do not and are unfortunate enough to be recaptured they are treated worse than animals.
Arranged marriages are the norm, and marriage by choice is considered a sin, something against Islamic teachings. Girls from religious minority groups are abducted, raped, and forced to convert to Islam. Such events abound under the patronage of the authorities.
Every Friday, and at least once a week, Muslim fundamentalist leaders deliver sermons suggesting that women are responsible for the vast majority of sins committed by males, there is little or no support for them from society.
Women living in rural areas cannot attain more than three years of formal education, which enforces a societal policy of female illiteracy women subsist under the thumb of male chauvinism.
In Pakistan laws that are by chance created for the protection of women are not implemented and enforced in order to keep women in virtual slavery.
The alarming rise in gender related crime speaks volumes about the state of the patriarchal mindset of our society. Every day thousands of women are abused sexually and physically, raped, murdered, denied basic right of education, and the right to choose their own life partner, and yet thousands of women in Pakistan endure all the abuse meted out to them and silently. The societal pressures further creates problem for women and creates hurdles in their path to seek justice, or to speak out against such violence and countless murders in the name of honour go unreported and that is the state of a woman in Pakistan.
