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

As per a Pakistan-based advocacy group, media outlets in the country are reporting far fewer incidences of violence against women in the country's eastern Punjab region. During the 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 the Sustainable Social Development Organization (SSDO).

Pakistan media understates cases of violence against women

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

According to the report, Lahore is the most violent district in Punjab, with the highest number of rape, violence against women, kidnapping, domestic violence, and child abuse instances. The 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 the SSDO, a more concerning tendency is the absence of enough space in the media for the subject. Earlier this year, the annual report on the country's human rights condition voiced concerns about the plight of women in Pakistan.

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

According to the research, there is a gender disparity even in subcategories of crime, such as the persecution of religious minorities, with situations such as forced conversions being reported. Other 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 Muhammad Ali Nawaz stormed the home of a Hindu villager in Salho Bheel, a tehsil in Sindh's Tharparkar region. Nawaz thrashed the man's family, raped his 15-year-old daughter, and later kidnapped her to keep her as a sex slave. The girl will very certainly convert to Islam, he added. 

Picture Credit: AP/PTI/RepresentativeImage