Lahore School of Economics

Domestic Violence
and its Impacts in
Pakistan
Sociology
Domestic Violence

Contents
Acknowledgement – Uzair Arshad ................................................................................................. 3

Abstract – Uzair Arshad.................................................................................................................. 3

Introduction – Hassaan Shakir ........................................................................................................ 3

Literature Review: .......................................................................................................................... 5

Article 1: Domestic Violence among Pakistani Women – Uzair Arshad ................................... 5

Article 2: Domestic Violence Laws and Practices in Pakistan – Shayza Khalid........................ 6

Article 3: Why do Victims Still Stay with Abusers – ................................................................ 8

Article 4: WOMAN AND DOMESTIC ABUSE - Hassaan Shakir ......................................... 11

Domestic Violence and its role in Pakistani media – Shayza Khalid ....................................... 13

Methodology: ................................................................................................................................ 15

Case Study 1: - Uzair Arshad................................................................................................... 15

Case Study 2: Violence in Pakistan: A Gendered Perspective – Shayza Khalid ...................... 17

Case Study 3: Domestic violence victims are left on their own in Pakistan ............................ 19

Case Study 4: SAMIYA SHAHID a case of violence and honour killing - Hassan Shakir ..... 21

Results ........................................................................................................................................... 21

Limitations – Uzair Arshad ........................................................................................................... 26

Recommendations – Uzair Arshad ............................................................................................... 26

References ..................................................................................................................................... 26

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Acknowledgement – Uzair Arshad

We thank Ms. Hirra Rana for supporting our work and the effort she contributed in our

work. We would also like to thank previous researchers who helped us in providing us with the

secondary data. Other than this, we would like to thank our class fellows of Lahore School of

Economics, who were also our sample for our Questionnaire and helping us with our primary

research. Furthermore, we would like to thank all the members of the group for equally

participating in the entire research process, for being there whenever help was required in either

steps of the research, and getting the questionnaires filled online.

Abstract – Uzair Arshad

Domestic violence is a serious public health problem in Pakistan. It is a complex pattern of

behaviors that may include, in addition to physical acts of violence, sexual and emotional abuse,

such as social isolation and financial deprivation. Domestic Violence is an abuse of power and is

the domination, coercion, intimidation and victimization of one person by another by physical,

sexual and/or emotional means within intimate relationships. It can include beating, murder,

rape, physical assault, and acid throwing.

Introduction – Hassaan Shakir

Domestic Violence or Domestic abuse is the violence of one person on another in a

domestic setting such as marriage or in family on the basis of power and dominance. Domestic

violence is a serious public issue which occurs in society. Domestic violence is a complex

behavior which is mostly unjustified and often ends up with wounds or even death. It can also be

called as intimate partner crime the reason is domestic violence often occurs in marriages where

one gender dominates each other. Especially in marriage where one partner mainly bares all this

and never speaks about it. The hardest thing is that domestic violence is a crime and a person

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suffering violence can easily approach the legal authorities still it goes unregistered because of

fear of one partner on another. Domestic violence can mostly occur on children, women, and

spouse or even on parents. It usually ends up in form of beating, thrashing, harassing,

dominating, sometimes extreme wounds, marital rape or most of the times in form of death. The

main reason behind domestic violence is to take things under control by using power.

Unfortunately, women and children are the main targets of this domestic abuse. Domestic

violence mainly occurs in between married couples and it’s done mostly by husbands or wives.

There are many forms of domestic violence in which it occurs such as verbal abuse, emotional

torture, economic condition, physical abuse or harassment and even sexual abuse.

Domestic Violence in Pakistan is also a very important public issue which is present

extremely all across the Pakistan. It mostly occurs in between lower class where there is lack of

resources and sometimes also in middle and many times in Upper class because this class wants

to have its dominance in the society or on individuals. Domestic violence in Pakistan is one of

the most common crime which is domestically present. Pakistani woman are the main targets of

domestic violence. They undergo many hardships and still sits quite just because of fear to be

killed. Married woman is main target of violence because a woman is perceived to have lower

income as well as low education. For the unmarried woman it is caused by siblings like brothers

or even Parents. Not only woman but children are also the part of domestic violence such as if a

child is hired by an honor who is his relative if he tries to abuse the child it also comes under

domestic violence. Domestic Violence in Pakistan is occurred on woman as sexual abuse, mental

harassment and physical traumatization it also occurs in between children as well. In this

research we will study how domestic violence in Pakistan prevails and what are the issues

regarding this research can be covered, the main causes of domestic violence and what are the

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measurements to control it. Domestic Violence is the most unreported crime in Pakistan because

if someone goes against the rules of family he might ended up its life. Domestic violence can be

of many types including honor killings as well and mostly domestic violence is called as silent

abuse as it goes unregistered because people don’t have those platforms to speak. The legal

authorities are also not that strong to solve the problems of domestically abused people. People

specially woman are not aware about their rights that they can raise their voice against the

violence. Literacy rate and lack of woman empowerment is the main cause of Domestic violence.

Literature Review:

Article 1: Domestic Violence among Pakistani Women – Uzair Arshad

According to the study included in this review, incidence of intimate partner violence was

reported as in the range of 30% to 79%. According to the study conducted among married

women in Karachi, 34% reported physical abuse, including slapping, pushing and pulling hair.

Main reasons reported included financial constraints (60%) and in-laws (15.3%). Violence was

significantly associated with low socioeconomic status and low income and educational

attainment. Common reported injuries were sore muscles, sprains and head injuries.

There are many causes for Domestic Violence in Pakistan. Poverty is one of the important causes

for Domestic Violence. Literature supported the fact that there is a male patriarchal culture in

Pakistan; usually the men have all the privileges and decision rights. Some of the reported factors

which are responsible for Domestic Violence in Pakistan are: domestic violence against women

due to daily conflicts and disagreements between a wife and husband on any decision, family-

related problems, and choice preferences, etc. Moreover, the financial instability may force a

man to vent his anger on his wife. In Pakistan, every third women are illiterate and hence

unaware about her rights. Increased level of education can create awareness and help them to

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speak up for their rights and bring change in them status. Niaz and Hassan reported that in

Pakistan there are some ancient traditions and customs which are still followed. This includes

exchange marriages, marriage with Quran, Honor killing, Dowry etc. Moreover,

misinterpretation of the religion is another aspect which makes women more vulnerable to

violence.

Prevention and control of Domestic Violence can be categorized in four levels. First level is the

individual who focuses on how to identify, prevent and stop the violence at the grass root level.

This level needs to identify personal data and information as causative factors. Second level is

the family level, where the intimate partner, most of the time is involved in Domestic Violence,

and therefore the relationship with the intimate partner, family and peers is very important. They

can influence behavior and help to build their personality and experience. Third level is the

community level in which secondary institutions like schools, colleges, work places and

neighborhoods may play a great role either directly or indirectly to a person to be vulnerable to

become a victim or influence aggressor of domestic violence. In the fourth level, society is

responsible for promotion or exhibition of the violence. This includes social and cultural norms,

customs, country economic, its policies, law and order.

Article 2: Domestic Violence Laws and Practices in Pakistan – Shayza Khalid

This article is written by Dr.Shahzadi Pakeeza. She states that the law of Pakistan takes domestic

violence into consideration by contemplating two generally critical parts which are the

constitutional law and the Shariah law. People have different perceptions to comprehend

domestic violence against women. Researches from all over the world state that domestic

violence is a major issue and needs to be handled by strict laws due to severe mental, physical,

and emotional consequences on the victim. The rise of the women rights groups are working

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towards protecting the victims of Domestic Violence in Pakistan. The present research on

Domestic Violence analyses the information, attitudes and perceptions that have an impact on it.

Through ancient times, women are viewed as the property of men and have no rights on her

children, belongings, inheritance or the money she earns. Men being the dominant one could use

violence on women and this was even accepted socially. Before the partition of the Indian

subcontinent, Hindu traditions and practices thrived into the Muslim practices so much that even

the religious customs were overshadowed. Hindu customs had eventually been embraced as a

vital component and indistinguishable convention. In this manner, rights of women were

overstepped and the thought of women being sub-ordinate were so mixed in societal norms that

the religious practices were dominated by traditional customs. The patriarchal gender system is

the base of sexism and gender inequalities against women in Pakistan. When a culture allows the

development of violence in its basic institutional systems, such acts of violence become a part of

the culture itself.

Pakistan being the Islamic state implements the laws according to the Quran and Sunnah but due

to the interference of other religions and culture, Pakistan is not completely Islamic. An example

could be that of honor killing which was a pre-Islamic ancestral custom but it is not endorsed by

Islam. Pakistani culture encourages male dominance in issues identifying with family, religion,

law, legislative issues and cultural practices. Hence, domestic violence is referred to as a

personal issue that should not be reported to the authorities. Therefore, due to societal culture

and norms, Pakistani women are regularly facing such unfair treatment and the reports of

violence on women have been increasing rapidly which results in their degraded status. The

occurrence of women abuse takes diverse structures and has negative impacts on the positive

development in a society especially in rural areas of Pakistan. The types of violence against

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women extend from physical and mental abuse, honor killing, wani and wattasatta. Due to the

impact of other religions, the ideology of Islam that should have been the one and only factor in

determining the rights and privileges of women was eclipsed by the pre-Islamic tribal customs.

Uses of media, cultural norms and customs and existing laws have collectively contributed to the

male dominance in Pakistan.

A lot of laws have been made in Pakistan prohibiting the act of domestic violence on women.

The constitution of Pakistan has provided equal rights and opportunities to all citizens regardless

of their gender. But this has yet to be followed due to the lack of education, raising voice for the

rights, and costly law procedures. The Convention on Elimination of All forms of Discrimination

against Women (CEDAW) categorizes violence on women as a violation of human rights.

Hadood ordinance consists of the laws on sexual violence. But still serious violations continue in

Pakistan. In 2009, National Assembly passed the domestic violence bill that offers to protect the

victim and punishes the guilty in the form of fine or imprisonment.

Article 3: Why do Victims Still Stay with Abusers

Domestic violence is a part of millions of family and their household and most of the

incidents go unreported. This violence affects everyone at home whether or not family members

are a victim of abuse themselves affecting neighbors, family, friends, coworkers and community

at large. There are many sources of domestic violence the first article is “Why do victims still

stay with their abusers “by Zawn Villainess. There can be many reasons but mostly it’s the role

of fear, people stay with abusers because they are afraid to leave, everyday three women die

because of domestic violence.

The culture is unsupportive one out of ten men believe that it is okay to hit a woman

which automatically creates a culture that it is normal to hit a woman.

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The victim might have immense love for the abuser, abusive relations are very common

and people who often abuse their partner may genuinely love them too. Victims are mostly kind

people who want to overlook the bad deeds in their partner they are very tolerant

Many of the victims want to end independence in the victim. Whenever there is a choice between

homelessness, poverty and staying with the abuser mostly people choose to stay with the abuser

particularly if they have children or decide to take higher education

As the abuse is done deliberately it erodes the sense of self-worth in the victims, there is constant

anger from the abuser thus a sense of shame and low self-worth is developed in the victim.

Qandeel Baloch; how she became unforgettable by Warda Imran

She was also a victim of honor killing brutally killed by her brother because he thought she had

brought shame and disgrace to her family and community. He took the matter to himself to put

an end to all comments and critics against her character and what she did. Warda Imran in her

article tells us about Qandeel Baloch whose real name was Fozia Azeem, who grew in poverty

and refused to accept it, she wanted to change her fate thus the society could not accept her. She

successfully climbed the socio-economic ladder in a country where the class you are born into

determines your status, your rights and your opportunities. She defeated all those barriers and

became a social media superstar. Her sister told that she had changed her name to Qandeel

because the people she worked with didn’t know she was a single woman working alone and she

didn’t have any support from her family.

The article likewise reveals insight into Qandeel's life; one that she lived much like youngest

ladies from a little town, inspired by weddings and family and custom. She was a married by her

parents and was a victim of domestic violence. It also discusses how much she adored singing

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even she went to Pakistan idol for auditions, she enjoyed singing. She'd tell to that her sister that

her voice is better than average, that she wanted to turn into an artist. She would often sit in front

of the TV and she would say, 'I'll make something out of myself. I'll accomplish something.' 'I'll

act, I'll sing.' 'I'll do everything.' 'you'll see.'

While endeavors have been made to avoid her out of society, to expel her name from presence,

to overlook her; numerous endeavors have been made to keep her alive, to take her back to open

discourse, to recollect her as not a disgrace to society but rather as a man who did not should be

slaughtered.

In any case, that is not what happened. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy coordinated a short film in

memory of Qandeel which was voiced by universal pop-sensation Madonna. The video starts

with a piece of Baloch saying, "I will accomplish something. I will accomplish something that

will stun everybody" and this video was also appraised by Madonna aswell as she said

"Pleased to portray my companion #SharmeenObaidChinoy 's most recent film about Qandeel

Baloch, the Pakistani online networking star who was killed by her sibling in a "respect

slaughtering." The Pakistan government at long last just passed the #antihonorkilling charge,

shutting the escape clause that enables executioners to walk free! ☮ So great to witness

positive change on the planet. Too terrible Qandeel thus numerous others needed to pass on first.

Today is the. DayoftheGirl @CHIMEFORCHANGE #GCFestival ."[sic]" said Madonna's

Instagram account with a photo of Qandeel Baloch connected.

The case also tells us she was the most established in her family and used to take care of her

father and family members too financially. As she was empowered the society could not take it,

as she was breaking the stereotypes, as she was gaining popularity and ending double standards

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in our country. She also exposed how Islamic scholars who boasted to be clean and rightful and

what they do back of the hand. It is said one reason for her death was also exposing that powerful

scholar. It is said she was the Kim Kardashian of Pakistan and she feared no one and wanted to

change the culture and stereotypes of Pakistani media and wanted more women empowerment

through her bold steps in the media industry. She was also bashed by the Baloch cast who

believed she was bringing disgrace to the Baloch family.

Saving Faces by Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy made a documentary “saving faces” emphasizing on the acid victims,

and how they felt, how their life was ruined. Acid attack contributes a major part in domestic

violence in rural and urban both areas of Pakistan. The documentary shows how the victims

lacked confidence later on, how they felt ashamed to go out, how they couldn’t attend any

wedding, any funeral or ceremony with those faces. They even said they couldn’t look at their

faces themselves and had to cover them whenever they go out. They are loved by none in that

form, and men particularly do it when they feel threatened by the empowerment of women, when

they stand for their right thus to shun them they use domestic violence as a tool to shut them up

to stop them asking for their rights. The documentary also endorses the effort of parliamentarian

Marvi Memon who visited acid victims and stood for the rights of acid victims and passed a bill

that the guilty would be sentenced life imprisonment two times and it was passed.

Article 4: WOMAN AND DOMESTIC ABUSE - Hassaan Shakir

The article states that woman is one of the major target of domestic violence in Pakistan which is

the main reason in the way of this social crime. It explains that Domestic violence is a

psychological behaviour which is often done by insecure and depressed husbands on their wives.

The article deals with the causes of Domestic violence. There are many reasons of domestic

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violence including the religion and environment. Pakistan possess patriarchal culture where man

is more dominating than woman. That is one of the reason that woman suffers domestic violence

most of the times. The male is perceived to have masculinity, decision making power and

control. So in order to take control violence is being used. Other than that religion is also causing

an impact on domestic violations. A girl thinks that it is a sin and an immoral behaviour to take

divorce from a harassing man but our religious approach is not explaining this. Islam talks about

peace and not violence. Education is one of the reasons of domestic violence any of the gender

lacking education can be a danger to society. If a woman is less educated she might going to

suffer domestic violence more than an educated woman. It has been seen that married woman

tends to suffer more domestic violence as compared to unmarried woman. The reason is married

woman is also surrounded by in-laws and she cannot speak either if she also have children

because husbands can take away her children and a mother can never bare this pain so she will

select to be beaten raped or wounded just because of her children. Personality traits can also play

a vital role in this situation if a man is inherited by these violent characteristics he is definitely

going to bash woman up, other than that gender disliking might be another factor of Domestic

violence some males don’t like males and vice versa. Domestic violence can be done on small

things which are usually meaningless and unjust. So, domestic violence is one the main social

problems of Pakistani society which has never been dealt by government. Main reason behind

this is how individual behaviour is shaped in our society. So it is better to change people’s

perspective towards woman and we all should empower woman. Because a healthy society is

always a mutual collaboration of female and male.

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Domestic Violence and its role in Pakistani media – Shayza Khalid

Khuda kay liye: The Lollywood director, Shoaib Mansoor made a film boldly and unabashedly

highlighting the black and white shades of the Pakistan citizens in an apparently impartial

disposition. Khuda kay liye is one such movie that is centered on important societal issues that

plague our society today. The story shows how Humayun Kazmi who lives in London is in fear

of losing his only daughter Iman Ali who has fallen in love with a British. This in spite of the

fact that the father himself is in a live-in relationship with a British lady. He legitimizes his

double standards offering the reason that Islam allows a man to have relationship outside his

religion however not to a woman. So in order to get her married to a Muslim groom, he

forcefully takes her to the outskirts of Afghanistan where she is forcibly married to her Muslim

cousin. The movie depicts how a woman who has a British nationality by birth, is called by an

English name and not with her original Islamic name, who is brought up by a British woman,

who has spent her entire life in a Western country is made to marry a Muslim man because that

is what her religion commands her to do so. The movie highlights that how patriarchy in one’s

society allows men to punish their daughters and wives the way they like. As shown in the movie

when Iman Ali tries to escape from the village, in order to punish her, her husband consummates

the marriage by force against her will so that she would not escape again. The movie depicts how

a woman in a Pakistani culture faces violence by the hands of her closest relatives. This movie

broke stereotypes and has so much power as the idea revolves around the societal and political

issues that rise in our society. The main idea of the movie centers on Domestic Violence on

women but it also ponders upon how Iman Ali instead of staying quiet and silently bearing the

violence takes steps against the violence that she faces and takes it to the court. This movie was

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the first of its own talking about Domestic Violence so loudly which has never been encountered

before as majority thinks that it is a personal affair and needs to be sorted out within the family.

Bol: Shoaib Mansoor directed the movie Bol in 2011. The theme of the movie centered on

Domestic Violence like in Khuda kay Liye, feminism, transgenders and prostitution. As a lot of

aspects were covered in the movie, our main focus will be on the violence depicted in the movie

on women and daughters. The movie also depicts that language plays the most important role in

developing ideologies and distributing power. The antagonist of the movie not only opposes his

wife and daughters but also uses the power of his hand. As shown in the movie, when Humaima

Malik takes her mother for an operation as a birth control without the knowledge of her father

and when he finds out, he inflicted wounds on his wife and daughter. As shown below:

“Mun sey phutto gi ya lagain aik”

English Translation:-“You will speak or I slap you”

It highlights the practice of having a lot of children in the name of religion and then not being

able to feed them. Hakeem sahib who dreams of having a boy gives birth to 7 daughters. The 8th

born child was not a daughter but a eunuch. In order to help the family financially, Humaima

Malik sends Saifi to paint trucks so that he could earn some money. Unfortunately, he gets raped

there and the father who could not bear the shame kills him. Thus, the movie represents that

women in our society are not the only victim of domestic violence, but the third genders are as

well. The movie shows how the third genders are not safe in their homes as well as outside their

homes. Later, Hakeem Sahab married a prostitute who gave birth to a daughter. Thinking about

the horrible future that girl will have, he decides to kill her. Hence, domestic violence can take

place in the form of someone’s death too. Father is a figure who is supposed to shower love on

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his children no matter what their gender is. The movie casts light upon the reality in a society

where a transgender is killed in the name of honor by his own family, where daughters are killed

in fear of their horrible future and where women are tortured mercilessly by their fathers and

husbands.

Methodology:

Case Study 1: Attitudes of Working and Non-Working Women About Domestic Violence -

Uzair Arshad

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, domestic violence defines as: "the

inflicting of physical injury by one family or household member on another; also: a repeated or

habitual pattern of such behavior.

There are recognizing signs and symptoms in both abuser and abuse person, such as

abuser appear overly controlled or coercive and give all answer for questions while the abuse

person appears confused, refuse to give any answer, will out of sight, quite, passive, and abuse

person show also depression, crying, and poor eye contact with others. They have also anxiety;

depression, chronic fatigue of suicidal thoughts; stress and substance abuse as common signs of

domestic violence. There are injuries of tympanic membrane (eardrum) rupture, rectal or genital injury,

facial scrapes, cuts or fractures, neck scrapes, abdominal cuts, tooth loose, head scrapes, arm scrapes,

injuries on body, buttocks and genitals, block blows to the head, and chest, cuts on palms, kick on feet,

back legs, buttocks and head crouched on floor, burns body from cigarette, bite marks, rope burns,

bruises, hit with belt buckle. These all show as signs and symptoms of domestic violence.

According to Aurat Foundation in 2008, there are 300 cases of torture reported, whereas in earlier

six months of 2009, there are 320 cases reported.

 In Punjab; there are 271 cases of Domestic violence

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 In Sindh; there are 134 cases of Domestic violence

 In NWFP; there are 163 cases of Domestic violence

 In Baluchistan; there are 22 cases of Domestic violence

 In Islamabad; there are 18 cases of Domestic violence


 Murder cases are: 288

 Honor killing cases: 284

 Kidnapping / abduction cases: 160

 Domestic violence cases: 134

 Suicide cases: 176

 Rape/ Gang rape cases: 122

 Sexual Assault/attack cases: 44

 Stove burning cases: 10

 Acid throwing cases: 9

 Miscellaneous cases: 535

In Pakistan there are some factors which are associated in domestic violence such as male

dominant social structure, lack of education, falsified beliefs, imbalanced empowerment issues

between males and females, lack of support from the government, low-economic status of

women, and lack of awareness about women’s rights. There should be made availability in

situation of domestic violence by means of integrated supportive services, legal intervention and

redress should be made available in situations of domestic violence.

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Case Study 2: Violence in Pakistan: A Gendered Perspective – Shayza Khalid

Pakistan has been positioned the 3rd most dangerous country in the world for women.

Gender Based Violence (GBV) in Pakistan has its foundations in patriarchal social structure

where women are treated as second class citizens and are considered to be the property of men.

The issue of domestic violence on women is further aggravated by ineffective criminal justice

system and poor laws.

Gender based violence consists of sexual harassment, marital rape, spousal abuse, forced

marriages, genital mutilation and forced prostitution. In 2017, cases of 15,461 of Domestic

Violence were reported in Pakistan. As per official figures conducted by Ministry of Human

Rights, 8648 human rights violations were reported in Pakistan between January 2012 and

September 2015. These included 72 cases of burning and 344 rape or gang rapes, 90 incidents of

acid burning, 535 cases of violence on women, 860 honor killings, 268 sexual assault and 481 of

domestic violence. In spite of this, there is no particular government law prohibiting domestic

violence. Women who have made efforts to take actions against domestic violence have

experienced difficulties with the police hesitating to take actions against the crime because they

think it is private matter and needs to be resolved within the family. They try to settle the issue so

that the women will not have to go through courts saving them the shame and if women try to

make an FIR, the cases proceed to years. Also, none of the women announced that they had been

given any protective measures by the police. Rape victims are assumed to be characterless and

are blamed for the rape. Some of the victims are forced to withdraw their case. The Station Chief

of a Lahore police station told the Human Rights Watch that the crime of marital rape does not

exist in Pakistan and that women themselves agree to intercourse and therefore lie in order to

punish their husbands. Sometimes the judiciary tries to punish the victim instead of the

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perpetrator. The International Crisis Group reported, “While researching on knowledge, attitudes

and practices on rape, I was shocked to hear a [lower court] judge in Punjab say that if it was a

gang rape, it could be considered zina-bil-jaber (rape). But if there was only one aggressor, then

it was zina (consensual extramarital sex). In some places, victims of rape are forcefully married

to their rapists. Moreover, cases of rape take years to be settled by law as reported in news

submitted to CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against

Women) that a rape trial can take about 1.5 to 10 years. According to HRCP (Human Rights

Commission of Pakistan) only four percent of Pakistan’s rape cases result in conviction. Pakistan

has taken a number of measures to counter Gender Based Violence by introducing laws

regarding the matter. In any case, the laws need actualizing measures and do not offer adequate

protections to the victims. Shelter homes have been made for women facing violence but they

lack basic necessities and are limited in number compared to the women looking for asylum.

Subsequently, cases of sexual abuse have also originated at these shelter homes forcing women

to go back to their abusers.

The government has built up police headquarters for women staffed by female police to offer

victims of violence a protected place to enlist complaints and document charges. However, they

are very few in number and are understaffed most of the time. Besides, the police do not have the

skills to deal with GBV cases. Evidence collection after assault cases is especially poor which

regularly brings about the culprit going free. The Ministry of Women Development (MoWD)

and the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), are in charge of implementation

of policies to eliminate GBV. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2004 of the Pakistan Penal

Code (PPC) prohibited karo kari, siyah kari and other such customs. Even then about 70% of the

perpetrators go unpunished. Moreover, in some cases the police have been reported to be

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compliance with the perpetrators of honor crimes. The Protection of Women (Criminal Law

Amendment) Act 2006 stated to punish the rapists but the law is poorly implemented as the

police in some cases have threatened the victims where they have been bribed. The Prevention of

Anti-Women Practices [Criminal Law Amendment] Act, 2011 lacked clarity in its application

because the law does not allow an arrest without a warrant. Provinces of Balochistan, Punjab and

Sindh have all passed legislations related to domestic violence such as such as the Sindh

Commission on the Status of Women Act 2015, the Punjab Women Protection Authority Act

2017 and the Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act 2013.

However, the passing of these several laws are to no use unless they are implemented to

successfully safeguard rights of violence be it on men, women or children.

Case Study 3: Domestic violence victims are left on their own in Pakistan

As indicated by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) report 'Territory of

Human Rights in 2015', 279 instances of aggressive behavior at home were recorded – though

777 ladies conferred or endeavored to submit suicide. Be that as it may, HRCP recorded just

about 3,000 instances of viciousness against ladies and young ladies in 2016. These examples

included murder, assault, abusive behavior at home, homosexuality and kidnappings. As per an

examination completed in 2009 by Human Rights Watch, in the vicinity of 70 and 90 for every

lady in Pakistan have endured some type of domestic voilence. An expected 5,000 ladies are

murdered each year from aggressive behavior at home, with a huge number of others injured or

impaired. So also, the Thomson Reuters Foundation has in the past positioned Pakistan third on

the rundown of riskiest nations for ladies on the planet. A 28-year-old residential laborer who

wishes not to be named says, 'I have been subjected to aggressive behavior at home for as long as

four years.

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'My husband is a drug abuser. He requests cash from me to purchase drugs and when I decline to

offer it to him he beats me extremely,' she says. Other than beating, he likewise used to

embarrass me before others which humiliated me, she includes. She says that 'when I enlightened

my parents regarding this relationship, my parents answered, "have tolerance he will change with

time”. She includes that when she decided to part ways from him her family used to say that

separated women are considered bad in the society. Clinical analyst at the HPC says

manhandled ladies can create self-hurting conduct, suicide propensities, drive conduct, detached

hostility and social withdrawal. She says ladies who endure aggressive behavior at home are at

more serious danger of psychological well-being issues, for example, sadness and uneasiness

Shabeena Ayaz, occupant executive of Aurat Foundation, an association working for the

privileges of ladies in the nation, says instances of aggressive behavior at home are increasing at

a disturbing rate in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remains the main region

lacking law to manage aggressive behavior at home. The Sindh Assembly passed the Domestic

Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act on 8 March 2013. The Balochistan Assembly passed

The Balochistan Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act on 1 February 2014. What's

more, the Punjab Assembly passed the Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Bill 2016

on 24 February 2016. 'Sexual and Reproductive Health of Young People in Asia and the Pacific',

a United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report discharged in 2016, uncovered that 53 out of

100 of high school young ladies in Pakistan trust abusive behavior at home is defended, and that

more than 30 for every 100 of young ladies are aged 15-19 had encountered physical or sexual

viciousness in the nation.

Individual from the KP government Shaukat Ali Yousafzai says the government is finding a way

to check aggressive behavior at home, including that, to control the danger, the administration

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has created a helpline for ladies to call. He says the administration built up a ladies' objection

work area in police headquarters to report instances of violations against ladies, for example,

harassment, sex based issues, and so forth. He includes that before the development of the work

areas, ladies were hesitant to report issues to male cops. He keeps up that the administration and

KP Commission on the Status of Women additionally drafted a KP Domestic Violence Bill in

2016, however the Council of Islamic Ideological (CII) – an established body that the following

bill was against Islam, specifically to the Qur'an and Sunnah – rejected the bill in April 2016.

Case Study 4: Samiya Shahid a case of violence and honour killing - Hassan Shakir

Samiya Shahid was born in Bradford London and her parents used to live in Pakistan.

She was found dead in Punjab. The reason of her killing was that she divorced her husband

because he was an illiterate and harsh man. He married to the man he likes named Mukhtar

Kazim without the permission of her family. She one day received a call from her family that her

father is seriously ill her sister and mother convinced her to come back to Pakistan to meet her

father Shahid where she was brutally killed by her ex-husband and Father just because she

married a man out of her cast and against the values of the family. It was one of the most violent

cases of honour killing and domestic violence. Samiya’s husband when came to know about her

death hegoes to police and informing that this not a usual case it’s an honour killings case. The

case is still in the supreme court of Pakistan. Samiya’s father and ex-husband are still free on

bail.

Results and Analysis

The first two questions were demographic questions in order to help researchers acknowledge

the conditions or factors that could affect the respondent’s opinion. The first question in the

questionnaire form was about the age of the respondent. It will help the researcher determine that

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how responses vary between different age groups. The age of the person will help inform the

researcher about the knowledge on the subsequent topic of the research. The age bracket selected

was from 15 to 30 or above. The second question was about the gender of the respondent. This

question was mentioned in the questionnaire to determine whether the domestic violence is faced

on a larger scale by men or women.

The third question was asked in order to interpret the knowledge of people about domestic

violence. They were asked what domestic violence is according to their opinion. Options were

forceful custody of someone against their will, physical abuse, verbal abuse, control of the other

partner and all of the above. 83.9% of the population said that it is a combination of all these

options while 8.9% it is physical abuse.

78.6% people said that anyone can be a victim of domestic violence and 14.3% said that it

happens among uneducated people.

100% of the respondents said that they knew domestic violence includes physical, sexual,

mental, and emotional abuse.

The most important question in our questionnaire was that whether the respondent has been the

victim of domestic violence himself or if he has known someone who has. 57.1% of the

population said that they have never been the victim of domestic violence or they do not know

anyone who has. The question raised here is that domestic violence is so common that people

still do not realize that it always does not have to include physical wounds but it could be mental

as well. Abusing the spouse, shouting at them, talking to them in a loud voice or creating fear in

them is also a form of domestic violence.

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This fact could be easily interpreted that women are the most common victims of domestic

violence as supported by 80.4% of the population while 19.6% selected the option of children

and none chose the option men.

Domestic violence is so common that it seems it has become a part of one’s culture where

women face it so brutally that it does not seem strange to them when their husbands raise their

hands on them. 58.9% said that domestic violence is not a part of one’s culture and 10.7% said it

is.

92.9% of the people said that legal authorities should take extra steps and put a greater effort to

prevent domestic violence. 7.1% said no may be because they think it is a personal matter and

needs to be resolved within the family.

58.9% people ticked the option that children who are a part of domestic violence are more likely

to become adult perpetrators.

About why the victim chooses to stay with the perpetrators, people had varied viewpoints.

Among them are:

 Maybe the victim has no support from any other side to stand against such cruel things.
 Fear, lack of resource to survive on their own
 Because there aren't any effective laws to protect the victim if he/she wants to fight for
their right
 Society “log kya kahengy”
 Bound by marriage mostly.
 Because they are afraid of them have fear of them. They are traumatized.
 They are forced against their will.
 Divorce is a Social stigma
 Sometimes the culprit is your most close relatives or even family members
 Because the victim has no other choice and because of the pressure from her family

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 In Pakistan, the victims of domestic violence are mostly women. Women tend to get
blamed for everything in our society. The “log kya kahen gey” concept is a very common
reason for this. Other than that the emotional and physical burden is too much for the
victim and it is not easy to leave the perpetrator just like that.
 Emotional blackmail and lack of support. Also distorted sense of safety and love.
 Children can't endure.
 Because the perpetrator is apparently stronger and can exercise more control and
authority

About how domestic violence can end in Pakistan, respondents said:

 I don’t think it is easy to do, maybe by doing better parenting and by studying our
religion carefully.
 Stricter laws and punishment, support centers to help victims
 By supporting the victims and conducting awareness programs.
 Through educating people and strict action should be taken against the perpetrators
 By enforcing strict laws that actually take action against the abusers. By giving women
the rightful place in the society. By teaching and raising men the right way.
 The change starts from within.
 Proper support by government for women and child abuse
 By educating people especially men about tolerance. And changing our social mindset
 It is all because of uneducated people. So by giving people free education, teaching
woman self-defense, psychological lectures. By doing these we can end domestic
violence.
 By punishing the culprit and training the children
 It’s hard to change the mindset of the whole society. Children should be educated from
a young age about mutual respect for everyone regardless of their gender, religion,
designation.
 Specific laws pertaining to domestic to be implemented and severe punishment for the
accused
 By proper awareness, that domestic violence is not only unethical but a major Sin
 By forming different complaints offices, easy access to such sources.

Respondents expressed the ways by which they could help the victims of domestic violence.

 By mental support and informing the law agencies

 Encourage them to leave abusive partner, give emotional support
 By comforting them emotionally.

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 Group counseling
 Spread the word against such kind of an abuse.
 Give them a voice
 Help them seek professional help
 Boost confidence and try to give motivation to have courage to fight and stay happy.
 Through rehab and consolation
 Offer them all the financial, emotional and physical support that they need. It is not easy
to get out of such a trauma. Give them the strength and remind them about how
courageous and brave they are.
 By offering support and help and listening to their situation and not judging them
 Human rights authority
 Sympathy and Psychosocial assessment
 By motivating them self-defense. People don’t know their power they just need a little
support and motivation.
 By reporting the culprit, and getting the victim justice.
 By teaching them to take a stand and fight for their own right

The last question was that how does an individual channel his psychological state after being the

victim of domestic violence.

 He might think bad about this world and never think positively
 Crying, anger
 Therapy. Some never let go of the traumas and decide to live with them, thinking it's the
life they've been entitled to by God.
 They might suppress their felling and become depressed
 By doing self-harm , by wishing to die and by thinking they are less of a human
 Withdrawing from people or society
 They get used to it and after a while it doesn’t affect them as much.
 The violence sticks with them through their whole life and affects their confidence
immensely
 By spending some quality time with parents or friends and diverting the mind
 They are broken and scared and don’t really think that they are capable of doing
anything.
 Self-acceptance is the first step towards healing. The victim needs to realize none of it
was their fault, and they still have a chance to start again, away from their torturer.

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 He/she can go in negative thinking phase.

Limitations – Uzair Arshad

 Less time to carry a detailed study.

 Less awareness regarding what aspects include in domestic violence.

 Due to less time, we couldn’t get much responses about the perspective of general

public regarding domestic violence.

Conclusion

No religion in the world allows domestic violence and instead prohibit it, be it on men,

women or children. Where an improvement in society takes us one step forward,

domestic violence takes us two steps backward. Domestic violence has a huge impact on

the people of a particular place. It can never be justified. Implementation of strict laws

and forces can end domestic violence from its roots. The victim should be asked to take

actions against domestic violence instead of staying quiet and silentl bearing the violence.

Recommendations – Uzair Arshad

 More affiliation towards the awareness of domestic violence.

 Introduction and implication of laws regarding domestic violence.

 Information session on public platforms should be held to educate women about their

rights

References

 Fikree FF, Bhatti LI. Domestic violence and health of Pakistani women. Int J Gynecol

Obstet. 1999.

 Human Rights Watch. Double jeopardy: police abuse of women in Pakistan, USA 1992

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 Violence Pakistan Gendered Perspective by Zainab Mustafa, Research Associate, RSIL,

Pakistan 2017

 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAWS AND PRACTICES IN PAKISTAN. DR SHAHZADI

PAKEEZA. Rawalpindi, Pakistan. January 2015

Appendix 1

Questionnaire

We students of Lahore School of Economics are conducting a research on Domestic Violence

and its impact in Pakistan. This shall only take 8-10 minutes of your time. You should know all

the information provided is for our study purpose and will be kept confidential.

What is your age group?

 15 to 20
 21 to 25
 26 to 30
 30 or above

What is your gender?

 Male
 Female
 Other

Domestic Violence is

 forceful custody of someone against their will

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 physical abuse
 verbal abuse
 control of the other partner
 all of the above

Domestic violence occurs in

 uneducated people
 anyone can be a victim of domestic violence
 lower socio-economic groups
 certain religious population

Do you know domestic violence includes physical, sexual, mental, and emotional abuse?

 Yes
 No

Have you or anyone you know been the victim of domestic violence?

 Yes
 No

According to you, who has been the victim of domestic violence the most?

 Male
 Female
 Children

Is Domestic Violence a part of one's culture?

 Yes
 No

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 May be

Should legal authorities put an extra effort to control domestic violence?

 Yes
 No

Do you think that children exposed to domestic violence are more likely to become adult

perpetrators themselves?

 Yes
 No
 Maybe

According to you, why does the victim chooses to stay with the perpetrator?

Ans:

How can domestic violence end in Pakistan?

Ans:

How can you help someone who has been the victim of Domestic Violence?

Ans:

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How does a person channel their psychological state after being a victim of Domestic Violence?

Ans:

Appendix 2

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