Pakistan media downplays cases of violence against women says advocacy group SSDO

As per a Pakistan-based vocacy group, media outlets in country are reporting far fewer incidences of violence against women in country's eastern Punjab region. During first six months of this year, 6,754 women were kidnapped, 1,890 were raped, and 3,721 acts of violence against women were reported in Punjab province, according to Dawn, citing a report from Sustainable Social Development Organization (SSDO).

Pakistan media understates cases of violence against women

According to report, 752 incidences of child abuse were reported in eastern region, while 34 cases of women rape were reported in Islamab. However, just 27 incidents were covered by media.

According to report, Lahore is most violent district in Punjab, with highest number of rape, violence against women, kidnapping, domestic violence, and child abuse instances. SSDO report's data is based on material provided by English and Urdu print media, as well as access to government registered cases.

According to Shahid Jatoi, Director of SSDO, a more concerning tendency is absence of enough space in media for subject. Earlier this year, annual report on country's human rights condition voiced concerns about plight of women in Pakistan.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) report provided a bleak image of country's women's rights situation. It dressed a variety of concerns affecting Pakistan's marginalised groups.

According to research, re is a gender disparity even in subcategories of crime, such as persecution of religious minorities, with situations such as forced conversions being reported. Or human rights violations that target women include child marriage and honour killings, which, while affecting men as well, are primarily focused on controlling and subjugating women, according to experts.

Cases of rape and abduction of Hindu women in Pakistan

Last month, a teenaged Hindu girl was allegedly raped and abducted in Pakistan's Sindh region, while her parents were violently tortured. Rahat Austin, a Pakistani human rights activist residing in South Korea, stated in August 2021, that a mob led by Muhamm Ali Nawaz stormed home of a Hindu villager in Salho Bheel, a tehsil in Sindh's Tharparkar region. Nawaz thrashed  man's family, raped his 15-year-old daughter, and later kidnapped her to keep her as a sex slave. girl will very certainly convert to Islam, he ded. 

Picture Credit: AP/PTI/RepresentativeImage