Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a blind beggars 19-year-old daughter was gang raped by three influential men for several months. Upon knowing her pregnancy, they forcibly poisoned her and killed the three-month-old fetus. Meanwhile, the police refused to protect the victim and pressed charges against her family to force the victim to withdraw her complaints against the perpetrators.
Miss. RP (the name is withheld to protect the victim’s identity), the 19 year-old daughter of a blind beggar, was gang raped at gunpoint by three men about three to four months ago when she was harvesting alone on a corn farm in Goth Dur Mohammad Phawarh, Ghotki district, Sindh province, Pakistan. The three culprits named Saad Ullah (alias Soodho Phawrh), Usman Phawarh, and Abdul Karim Phawarh beat her as she cried for help. The fastened her mouth with a piece of cloth at gunpoint and all three took turns raping her. Furthermore, they threatened to kill her if the assault was reported.
Two days later, the perpetrators returned to her house knowing that most people would be away at work. They stripped her, forced her to dance, tortured her, and burned her with cigarettes before they tied her up to rape her again. Since the three men were influential landlords with strong connections and support from the local police force, they threatened that they would make sure her entire family got life sentences if she told anyone about the attack. Her fear silenced her as the rape continued daily until she was three-month pregnant.
The victim’s mother told her husband about the incident and they lodged a report to the Ghotki police and subsequently a case of rape was filed on 26 June 2006 against Saad Ullah, Usman Phowarh and Abdul Karim with the Ghotki police station. But the Ghotki police delayed their response in arresting the culprits and only arrested Saad Ullah and Usman but not Abdul Karim, as he allegedly had good connections with the police. The arrests of the two men were also made only after the intervention of local journalists.
After the local hospital confirmed her pregnancy, the culprits allegedly attempted to kill the victim and her fetus. On 3 July 2006, some armed men, two of which identified themselves as police officers, attacked the victim’s entire family and forced poison down her throat. They threatened the family saying that if they went to the hospital, they would attack the family again. The victim was then hospitalized at Taulaqa hospital Ghotki some hours later and luckily survived with the help of Dr. Salma, but the 3 month-old fetus was dead. During her stay in the hospital, the Ghotki police allegedly forced the hospital to release her a week early from medical care. The victim’s condition still remains serious.
A case of attack was registered against local gangsters namely Ghulam Nabi Aandal, Hazoor Bux Phawarh, Yaqoob Phawarh, Sohno Phawarh, Abdullah Phawarh and Mehboob Phawarh. But no one has yet been arrested. Meanwhile, in order to pressure the family to drop charges, the rapists simultaneously filed a petty case suit for fighting in the Sarhad police station against the victim’s blind father Allah Rukhyo, her two brothers Abdul Haleem and Abdul Jabbar, as well as her uncles Basheer Ahmed, Ali Mohammad, Ghulam Nabi, and Abdul Wahab Phawarh. Subsequently, three of the victim’s family members have been arrested by the police.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
Pakistan has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 3 March 1996 and as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, Pakistan also has accordingly established domestic laws for the protection of women. However, the rights and protection of marginalized people such as the victim are often overlooked by the government.
Looking into domestic legislations relating to rape case, Pakistani law is punishing victims of rape as though they were criminals while the perpetrators go free. The Hudood Ordinances are a set of laws in Pakistan intended to make the criminal justice system conform to Islamic law. Hudood Ordinances, which are inspired by Islam, cover offences including Zina crimes (unlawful sexual intercourse including adultery and rape) and Qazf (wrongful accusation of Zina crimes). They do not differentiate rape from adultery. The maximum punishment for Zina crimes is death by stoning. Many women are imprisoned for years, convicted or awaiting trial for Zina crimes.
In particular, these laws place an almost impossible burden of proof on women and girls who are raped. Under Hudood rules, a woman must have four male Muslim witnesses present at her rape to prove her case. All four must have an unblemished police record and be of unsullied reputation for their words to be accepted. Short of this, the victim is liable to be accused of adultery and sentenced to time in jail or to death by stoning. Under the circumstances, if they report a rape to the police they are often charged with Zina crimes because they have in effect admitted to sexual intercourse outside of marriage and been unable to prove absence of consent. In such cases, the victims are more likely to be convicted than the perpetrators. Even though there are some provisions relating to rape in the Criminal Penal Code of Pakistan, those provisions are not practiced in actual circumstances.
Meanwhile, many Hudood cases are pending before courts for several years. To settle this problem, the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan has ordered courts to settle cases filed under the Zina Offence provisions within three months. For example, it is estimated that there were 200,000 Hudood cases pending before the courts. According to the Federal Shariat Court, the Lahore Registry alone had about pending 1,400 cases. The effect is that the accused, most of them are women, are unjustly detained waiting trial.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the Pakistan authorities listed below and urge them to order a proper and thorough investigation into this case. Please also urge them to ensure that the third culprit is arrested immediately and that they withdraw the cases against the victim’s family that were filed at the Thana Sarhad police station. Please also urge them to inquire into the misuse of power and delayed response to the case by the Ghotki police.
Please also urge the government of Pakistan and the provincial government of Sindh to compensate the victim with monetary support, medical assistance and governmental protection.
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SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ____________,
PAKISTAN: The Ghotki police fail to act on the gang rape of a 19 year-old girl
Name of the victim: Miss. RP (the name withheld to protect the victim’s identity), aged 19, a daughter of Allah Rukhyo Phawarh, residing in Goth Dur Mohammad Phawarh, Ghotki district, Sindh province, Pakistan
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Saad Ullah alias Soodh Phawarh, the rapist, a landlord
2. Mr. Usman Phawarh, the rapist, a landlord
3. Mr. Abdul Karim Phawarh, the rapist, a landlord
4. Station House Officer (SHO) of Ghotki police station in Ghotki (for not arresting Abdul Karim and allegedly prevented the victim from receiving adequate medical treatment at hospital)
5. SHO of the Sarhad Thana Police Station in Ghotki
6. Mr. Mehboob Phowarh, the alleged attackers to the victim (for allegedly helping the culprits by pressing charges against the victim’s family)
7. Mr. Abdullah Phawarh, alleged attacker of the victim, a local gangster
8. Mr. Ghulam Nabi Aandal, alleged attacker of the victim, a local gangster
9. Mr. Hazoor Bux Phawarh, alleged attacker of the victim, a local gangster
10. Mr. Yaqoob Phawarh, alleged attacker of the victim, a local gangster
11. Mr. Sohno Phawarh, alleged attacker of the victim, a local gangster
Period of the rape and attack: constantly raped from around March 2006, attacked on 3 July 2006
Place of the incident: the victim’s house and nearby corn farm
I am writing to draw your attention toward the alleged gang rape of a 19 year-old girl, daughter of a blind beggar, by influential politicians of the Ghotki district in Sind Province and with the help of the local polices inaction.
According to the information I have received, the victim was gang raped at gunpoint by three local influential figures named above at the corn farm in Goth Dur Mohammad Phawarh, Pakistan in around March 2006. After raping her, they threatened to kill her if the assault was reported. After the first instance of the rape, the perpetrators continued to visit the victim’s house while her family went to work. They then stripped her, forced her to dance, tortured her, and burned her with cigarettes before she was raped. Since the three men were influential landlords with strong connections and support from the local police force, they threatened that they would make her entire family receive life sentence if she told anyone about the rape. Her fear then silenced her as the rape continued daily until she was three-month pregnant.
Upon learning of the incident, the victim’s parents reported it to the Ghotki police and subsequently a case of rape was filed on 26 June 2006 against the three rapists mentioned above with the Ghotki police station. But the Ghotki police took a delayed response to arrest culprits and they later only arrested Saad Ullah and Usman but not Abdul Karim as he allegedly had good connections with the police. The arrests of the two men were also made only after the intervention of local journalists.
Meanwhile, the culprits allegedly hired the persons mentioned above and attempted to kill the victim and her fetus on 3 July 2006. They attacked the victim’s entire family and forced poison down her throat. The victim was hospitalized at Taulaqa hospital Ghotki and luckily survived; however, the 3-month-old fetus was dead. During her stay in the hospital, the Ghotki police allegedly forced the hospital to release the victim a week early from medical care. The victim’s condition still remains serious. A case of attack was registered against the persons mentioned above but no one has yet been arrested.
Beside this, in order to pressure the family to drop the charges, the rapists simultaneously filed a petty case suit for fighting in the Sarhad police station against the victim’s blind father Allah Rukhyo, her two brothers Abdul Haleem and Abdul Jabbar, as well as her uncles Basheer Ahmed, Ali Mohammad, Ghulam Nabi, and Abdul Wahab Phawarh. Subsequently, three of the victim’s family members have been arrested by the police.
To my knowledge, Pakistan is a member of the UN Human Rights Council and has also ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1996. However, the Pakistan government has not fulfilled its moral and international obligations to protect rape victims in the country.
In particular, domestic laws are punishing victims of rape as though they were criminals while the perpetrators go free. Hudood Ordinances do not differentiate rape from adultery and place an almost impossible burden of proof on women and girls who are raped. Short of this, the victim is liable to be accused of adultery and sentenced to time in jail or to death by stoning. Under the circumstances, if they report a rape to the police they are often charged with Zina crimes because they have in effect admitted to sexual intercourse outside of marriage and been unable to prove absence of consent. In such cases, the victims are more likely to be convicted than the perpetrators. Even though there are some provisions relating to rape in the Criminal Penal Code of Pakistan, they are seldom used, let alone for the protection of marginalized women such as the victim here. Influential men in society, thus, blatantly violate and brutalize women for their own devious sexual pleasures with support from the local government. Such behavior is a shame for the Government of Pakistan, as well as the international community as a whole. It is shameful that the Pakistan government is seated on the UN Human Rights Council while its law enforcement officers help the culprits of the gang rape of an innocent 19 year-old girl and kill the fetus in her womb. This kind of hypocrisy is disrespectful to CEDAW, the UN committee, and women across the globe.
I therefore urge you to order a prompt and thorough investigation on the case of gang rape.
If the alleged perpetrators are found guilty, then proper punishment should be given, as well as victim compensation. They should be charged under the Criminal Penal Code rather than under the Hudood Ordinances. I also urge the Government of Pakistan to reform Hudood Ordinances in compliance with international standards so that rape victims can be protected.
I hope that intervention from your side will be forth coming.
Yours sincerely,
———————
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. General Pervez Musharraf
President
President’s Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1422, 4768/ 920 1893 or 1835
Email: (please see – http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/WTPresidentMessage.aspx)
2. Mr. Muhammad Wasi Zafar
Minister of Law, Justice and Human Rights
S Block
Pakistan Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 920 2628
E-Mail: minister@molaw.gov.pk
3. Mr. Ishrat-ul- Ibad Khan
Governor
Government of Sindh
Governor House Karachi
PAKISTAN
Tel: + 92 21 920 1201
Email: governor@governorsindh.gov.pk
4. Dr. Arbab Abdul Rahim
Chief Minister of Sindh
Chief Minister House
Karachi
PAKISTAN
Fax: 92 21 9202000
5. Ms. Yakin Erturk
Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
c/o Ms Vernonica Birga
Room 3-042
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9615
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN)
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
