A committee comprising notable religious scholars, intellectuals, and members of the civil society will be formed to guide the government on how to control the rising cases of violence against women.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary informed that the decision was made on Tuesday. He stated that the recent surge in horrific cases of rape, harassment and assault on women had left the government alarmed.
According to the minister, Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the harassment and assault of a woman Tiktoker at the Minar-e-Pakistan on August 14 is one of those incidents that have induced fear in all sections of the society.
“The social media has reacted to the whole situation as well and we have decided to start a debate on this issue,” Fawad said.
He said a debate, involving people from different backgrounds, was necessary to find out solutions towards eradicating these issues. Therefore, the government will seek guidance from the “high-level committee on where we want to go and what kind of regulations can be introduced.”
On 14th of August, a female TikToker was harassed by 400 men. She intented to make a video when men started approaching her, the guard opened the fence and a mob of men rushed in. They tore the victim’s clothes, harrassed and robbed her. The medical report confirmed multiple bruises and scratches on the victim’s body.
Various videos of the incident emerged, some show the men raising their cameras to capture the girl being pulled around by the crowd. Another depicted the men throwing the woman in the air.
A FIR was lodged and almost 100 suspects have been taken into custody.
In July, the Domestic Violence bill was rejected by the Ulema’s council as it was a threat to Pakistan’s family system. Soon after this the country was devastated by three women being killed within a week in gruesome ways. Noor Makhdum was tortured and beheaded. Guriya Bibi, a mother of 3 was put on fire by her husband. Another woman was raped and stabbed to death by her husband along with her 11-month-old baby.
Few months ago the Prime Minister was largely condemned for blaming the exponentially increasing rape and harassment on obscenity and women’s clothes. Although he did later amend his statement in an international interview, explaining that it was always the fault of the offender and never the victim.
There are still many people who believe that the solution is further policying women’s bodies instead of regulating the men’s behaviour in society.
If you or anyone you know is a survivor of domestic violence, then you can contact the following organisations.
Ministry of Human Rights-1099 (You can even download its app Helpline 1099)
Madadgar-1098
Punjab Women’s Toll-Free Helpline-1043
Rozan counselling helpline-03041111741
Dastak Foundation-03334161610
Bedari-03005251717
