Commenting on the Minar-e-Pakistan ignominy, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the incident was disturbing and such episodes are not part of our culture and religion.
Yes, they are not a part of our religion. But crimes against women are very much a part of Pakistan’s patriarchal culture which treats a woman as an inferior being. Unless the fact is realized, the crimes will continue to be committed.
Patriarchy often leads to misogyny. Parading women naked to humiliate their family for any reason is not uncommon. Not long ago a teenage girl was stripped naked and forced to walk nude through the streets of a village in Dera Ismail Khan. Incidents of acid thrown on women to disfigure them for life, for refusing to marry or as a consequence of domestic disputes, have not stopped in Pakistan. There are primitive customs like vani, also called swara, which allow girls, often minors, to be given in marriage to an aggrieved family as compensation to end murder-related disputes. The girl who is not responsible for the crime is maltreated throughout her life. Women are killed in an age-old custom called karo-kari for having brought dishonour upon the family or tribe. Honour killing too targets women. None of these customs were imported from the West.
To add insult to injury, victim blaming is quite common. In an interview on HBO early this year, Mr Khan said: “If a woman is wearing very few clothes, it will have an impact on the men, unless they are robots. It’s just common sense.” There are many in this country flaunting religiosity who share Mr Khan’s view.
Me Khan has cited several factors for rise in sexual crimes: Women’s dress style, the English-medium education system, and now the mobile phones. The way out suggested has been purdah, a uniform education system, and added doses of religious instruction in the school curriculum . Unless the government realises that something has gone wrong with Pakistani society and takes measures to set it right, there will be no end to crimes against women.
Both short-term and long-term measures are needed to bring crimes against women under control. The short-term measures include quick and exemplary punishments for those involved in crimes. The long-term measures include dismantling the patriarchal values which promote misogynist trends and encourage crimes against women.
