KARACHI: Khairpur the home district of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah tops

the list of districts in the province with the highest number of violence incidents against women
recorded during the third quarter of the year, says a report released on Friday.
In all 421 incidents of violence against women and girls were reported and 72 of them were
recorded in Khairpur alone, according to the quarterly report titled Situation of Violence
Against Women in Sindh (July-September 2014).
Know more: Violence against women in politics rising in Pakistan, India: study
Prepared by the Aurat Foundation, a non-governmental organisation working on women-related
issues, the report says the 421 incidents involved 534 women and girls but FIRs were registered
only in 66 cases.
The report, based on figures published in newspapers over a period of three months, says that the
issue of violence against women was rooted in social norms and economic dependence while the
discriminatory practices were the result of the patriarchal system.
Gender-based violence helped maintain women in subordinate roles and contributed to their low
level of political participation and to their lower level of education, skills and work opportunities,
it adds. A badly-worded FIR also harms prosecution cases obstructing womens access to
effective remedies, the report says.
Most of the time police are not informed about such incidents, while some of those reported to
the police are not recorded in roznamcha (police diary), the report says. Even if a few cases are
lodged, inquiries are not properly conducted and the matter is eventually shelved, it adds.
It was observed that urban areas were fast catching up with the rural areas as far as far as
violence against women was concerned, as out of the 421 cases, 197 were reported in the urban
areas. About the marital status of victims, the report mentions that out of the 534 women victims,
249 (59 per cent) were married while 67 were unmarried whereas the marital status of 218
victims remained unknown owing to incomplete information.
The nature of crimes in the violence against women included murder (76 women), hunour killing
(57), suicide (49), jirga (41), abducted and kidnapped (41), injury (39), rape / gang rape (21/5),
sexual assault (17), torture (17) and attempted suicide (19).
Ninety-one of the victims aged between 19 and 36 years, 66 were minors and 13 were over 37
years, while the age of 364 other victims of violence could not be ascertained, the report adds.

The district-wise number of cases during the three months were Khairpur (72), Jacobabad (46),
Larkana (45), Shikarpur (28), Sanghar (27), Sukkur (23), Benazirabad (21), Ghotki (21),
Naushahro Feroz (16), Mirpurkhas (15), Kashmore (15), Tharparkar (14), Karachi (12),
Jamshoro (12), Dadu (11), Hyderabad (9), Badin (8), Qamber-Shahdadkot (8), Thatta (7), Matiari
(4), Umerkot (4), Tando Mohammad Khan (2) and Tando Allahyar (1).
In the report, Aurat Foundation chief Mahnaz Rehman demanded that the government ensure that
laws against domestic violence, rape, sexual harassment and other gender-based violence gave
adequate protection to all women, and respected their integrity and dignity and appropriate
protective and support services were provided to the victims.
Gender-sensitive training for judicial and law-enforcement officers and other public officials was
essential for the effective implementation of the laws and international conventions signed by the
country, she said, adding that inadequate policing and judicial practices denied proper protection
and justice to female victims.
The report stated female participation in public life was increasing with new laws being enacted
but there was still a long way for women to get the status of equal citizens in society.
Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2014

A Rampant Crime of the Intimate: Domestic

Violence against Women in Pakistan
It is well known that women are helpless to many forms of violence, and domestic violence
signifies the collective term. Violence against women is one of the crucial social
mechanisms by which they are forced into a subordinate position compared to men.

The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993)
defines domestic violence as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to
result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such
acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.
[1]
There are different theoretical models that can be used to understand why violence occurs
within intimate relationships. These include psychopathological, sociological, gender, and
family systems theories. Psychopathological theories bring in individual mens interpersonal
problems and functional deficits, including certain psychiatric diseases.

Sociological theories indicate that illiteracy, economic vulnerability, stress, lack of support
from authorities and a closed social network increase the risk. Lack of education leading to
unemployment with resultant low monthly income yields anger, frustration and depression in
husbands eventually leads to misery of women.

Gender theories describe the cultural and social constructions of gender, where masculinity
is associated with aggression and power, and femininity with subordination lead to such
accidents. Family system theories focus on communication, relationship, and problemsolving skills of couples in whom violence occurs; these couples are usually living
independently without any intervention of their elders to help them resolve their issues.

Domestic violence includes violence perpetrated by intimate partners and other family
members, and manifested through: physical abuse such as slapping, beating, arm twisting,
stabbing, strangling, burning, choking, kicking, threats with an object or weapon, and
murder. Acts of sexual abuse include coerced sex through threats, intimidation or physical
force.
Economic abuse includes acts such as the denial of funds, refusal to contribute financially,
denial of food and basic needs. Gender bias has also been found as a source of
discrimination and abuse in terms of nutrition, education and access to health care facilities
amounting to violation of multiple womens rights.

Recently a rising trend of acid throwing and honor killing is observed in Pakistan. Domestic
violence is under-reported in Pakistan. Not much research has been conducted on this topic
in Pakistan. Factors which stop women from seeking help need to be investigated as well.
To the best of our knowledge, there is no data showing whether women are even aware of
their rights or not in Pakistan.

HRCP (human rights commission Pakistan) noted that up to 90% women in Pakistan face
some form of domestic violence in their families and from husband. The studies conducted
in developed countries show following percentage of women facing domestic violence:
Canada 29%, Japan 59%, New Zealand 20%, United States 25%, United Kingdom 25%,
Thailand 20%, Egypt 35%, Mexico 30%, and in Colombia 19%[1]. This data shows that
domestic violence is not only problem of Pakistan but is a worldwide menace.

A study conducted by Department of Community Medicine, Fatima Jinnah Medical College

in 2010 revealed following data: 60.9% of the participants said it was their husband who
physically abused them; in 23.93% of the cases being slapped was the most common
mode; 17.09% said they were abused only rarely i.e. less than once a year.

The reason for violence was most commonly found to be anger and frustration, 36.36%,
followed by money and addiction in 31.81% of the cases. Most of the victims, 49.39%, took
no action against the abusers and only 0.4% of victims pleaded their cases in the court of
Law. This article is written to break cultural norms of Pakistan that mandate that violence
against women need not be discussed openly.

The situation of domestic violence against women in Pakistan is far from clear but what is
clear is that it is an issue and not much is being done to prevent it either by the government
or nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The responsibility of this plight of women also
fixes on the women themselves as well who appear to be ignorant of their rights and never
raise voice against this injustice. So much so numerous women consider such violence a
normal part of their normal family lives and never take any action against this so to save
their relationship for their children yet this is one sided only.

To be able to address the issue properly it is important to have baseline data about its
prevalence and reasons behind violence against women. Thorough studies are needed to
be conducted to explore this matter in more detail keeping in view that domestic violence is
a sensitive issue and needs to be tackled and studied carefully.

Laws need to be made for protection of women rights. The aristocratic thinking of the males
needs to be changed. Women should be educated regarding their rights and values in the
family. Awareness campaigns should be launched for both women and men.

It should be done by knowledgeable people like doctors, nurses, psychologists, priests etc.
This could be done either by direct or indirect teaching. The direct methods would include

one-to-one teaching, counseling, or group based teaching. Indirect methods would involve
the use of media, pamphlets, role plays, dramas and talk shows.

Women are an important part of whole of the country. If they continue to be physically
tortured, then half of the nation would indeed be maimed and our chances of prospering as
a nation would indeed be marred. Concluding, urgent educational, social, and constitutional
steps need to be taken to uplift this half of our nation to prosper as a country.

References:
1. UNICEF, Innocenti research center, Domestic violence against women and girls; No.6
June 2000.
About the Author: Dr. Amna Ahmed, is a house officer at Ganga Ram Hospital and Jinnah
Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan. She can be reached at amnaahmad_89@hotmail.com
- See more at: http://blogs.jpmsonline.com/2014/11/27/a-rampant-crime-of-the-intimatedomestic-violence-on-women-in-pakistan/#sthash.coSWRq2e.dpuf