News of female honour killings, sexual assaults and harassment in this country horrifyingly cycles through the media like expected guests – grim, familiar and routine. Every other day, an incident crops up that shakes the nation to its core only to eventually die down and be swallowed by yet another one. A 2021-24 report on gender-based violence (GBV) in Sindh, recently released by the Women Action Forum (WAF), reveals a total of 2,564 cases, and, unfortunately, counting. And these figures only include a limited percentage of all cases as many crimes go unreported owing to a societal understanding of GBV as ‘taboo’ and ‘shameful’.
According to the report, cases of both honour killing and sexual abuse of underage girls have been on the rise, with women often being subjugated to public scrutiny through media for their ‘involvement’ in the crime. Many are quick to blame victims on the premise that their clothes, their actions or even their character somehow justify the violence inflicted on them. This mindset reflects just how deeply such violence has been normalised, where perpetrators are seldom ostracised or punished, and often even lauded.
With regard to GBV, even the police force does not do much. As stated by Dr Arfana Mallah, leader of WAF and a human rights activist, officers often don’t respond to such crimes or withdraw from pursuing them.
The treatment of women in our society remains a deep-seated ailment that pervades across all social classes, castes and backgrounds. It is a prevalent and stubborn malady that has sunk its roots everywhere, mostly because almost all concerned authorities are complicit. As long as every single crime is not treated with the severity it demands and the culprits remain unpunished, they will continue to believe they can get away with anything scot-free. As they often do.
