Crime against women increase by 50%
ISLAMABAD – Over 40,000 women representatives are present in elected bodies, however, not a single law has been passed to provide protection to women, and their miseries are on the increase, said a report issued by the Peace Council of Pakistan (PCP) in Islamabad on May 10.
During the last one year as a whole, crimes against women have gone up 50 per cent, and there has been no let-up in the sufferings, miseries and indignities suffered by them, the report observed.
At present, it notes, 234 women are members of the national and provincial assemblies, and 40,000 are in local bodies. Out of them, 11 hold portfolio of ministers and advisers in the federal and provincial cabinets, while one is a deputy speaker in the Sindh Assembly.
“But this superficial representation” has not contributed anything to the welfare of poor women, because the feudal and wealthy elite who hold all power in the country from the very first day “have succeeded in getting their wives, sisters, daughters, nieces and daughters-in-law elected to parliamentary institutions”.
According to the PCP, thousands of women became victims of serious crimes like abduction, gang rape, honour killings, death by immolation or acid or by stove bursts etc.
During one year, more than 800 cases of violence against women had been reported where women were paraded naked in the streets and subjected to other methods of torture and demeaning treatment.
According to the report, 152 women were either set on fire or burnt with acid due to dowry and family feuds. Of these, 8 per cent lost their lives because of lack of burn units and relevant equipment in hospitals.
More than 200 women committed suicide because of poverty, sense of deprivation, unemployment and marriage against their will. More than 500 women became victims of honour killing for which “Karo Kari” is the term used in Sindh, “Sia-Kari” in Balochistan, “Kali Kari” in the Punjab and “Tor Tora” in the NWFP.
The report said the condition of women in rural areas was particularly dismal, as they suffered owing to acute poverty, illiteracy and poor health. Besides working at home, they work in fields.
No attention is, however, ever paid towards their miserable condition. It said 45 per cent women of the countryside lacked health facilities and, as a result, 1.4 million lost their lives annually.
The government has created a separate ministry for the development and welfare of women, in addition to a bank and some police stations. But it is surprising that a mere 0.1 per cent of national budget has been allocated for the purpose, the report said.
At present, thousands of women are in jail under “Hudood” Ordinance and other discriminatory laws, and 90 per cent of them belong to poor families.
Source: Dawn
Date:5/12/2004
” 
” 
” 
” 
” 
