Violence Against Women (Rape)
Image by B. Sandman via Flickr
The situation of women in Pakistan varies considerably depending on geographical location and class. Women fare better in urban areas and middle and upper class sections of society, where there are greater opportunities for higher education and for paid and professional work and women’s social mobility is somewhat less restricted. Seventy five percent of Pakistan’s female population is, however, rural, and the average Pakistani women are beset with the crippling handicaps of literacy, constant motherhood and poor health. And, despite the relative privilege of some, all Pakistani women remain structurally disadvantaged and class citizens as a result of legal and societal discrimination premised on social and cultural norms and attitudes. Women’s legal and social status has changed throughout the country’s turbulent political history, sometimes for the better, lately for the worse. All the women had to face the severe problems not only in the past but they are also facing violence even in this modern era, which is considered the scientific and progressive era. Clear violations of international law on the right of women occur daily in Pakistan. Laws that discriminate against women remain on the books and are actively enforced.
Violence against women is a term of art used to collectively refer to violent acts that are primarily or exclusively committed against women. Similar to a hate crime, this type of violence targets a specific group with the victim's gender as a primary motive. The United Nations General Assembly defines "violence against women" 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." The 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women noted that this violence could be perpetrated by assailants of either gender, family members and even the "State" itself. Worldwide governments and organizations actively work to combat violence against women through a variety
of programs. A UN resolution designated November 25th as International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Categories of Violence
Women in Pakistan face the threat of multiple forms of violence, which have been discussed under;
1. Sexual violence by members of family, strangers, and state agents.
2. Domestic violence.
• Domestic abuse
• Spousal murder
• Being burnt
• Disfigurement with acid
• Physical Beating and
• Threat
3. Ritual honor killings.
4. Custodial abuse and torture.
Pakistan’s previous rape laws had defined rape as compulsory sexual intercourse. The new law added to this definition that both a man and a woman may be guilty of rape and narrowed the circumstances in which rape can be said to have occurred. Statutory rape, previously defined as sex with or without the consent of a girl under the age of 14 was no longer a crime. In addition, the legal possibility of marital rape was eliminated; by definition, rape became an extramarital offense. The Zina ordinance defined rape as sexual intercourse without being validly married when it occurs in any of the following circumstances:
(a) against the will of the victim; (b) without the consent of the victim; (c) with the consent of the victim, when the consent has been obtained by putting the victim in fear of death or of hurt; (d) with the consent of victim, when the offender knows that the offender is not validly married to the victim and that the consent is given because the victim believes that the offender is another person whom the victim is or believes herself or himself to be validly married.
Alcohol and/or other drug uses is frequently involved in rape. In 47% of rapes, both the victim and the perpetrator had been drinking. In 17%, only the perpetrator had been. 7% of the time, only the victim had been drinking. Rapes where neither the victim nor the perpetrator had been drinking were 29% of all rapes.
The issue of the rapist's motivation seems to be multi-factorial and is controversial.
Most experts assert the primary cause of rape is an aggressive desire to dominate the victim rather than an attempt to achieve sexual fulfillment. "We can think of no other assertion in the social sciences, that has achieved such wide acceptance based on so little evidence," wrote Felson and coauthor Tedeschi, pioneers of the controversial Social-Interactionist Perspective which asserts that sexual desire can be a motivating factor in rape. They consider rape an act of violence rather than principally a sexual encounter. Other groups, such as the Catholic Church, consider some rapes to be
motivated by lust. Cundiff (2004) argued that the unavailability of another outlet for male sexual desires, such as prostitution, may contribute to the prevalence of rape.
Most rapists do not have a preference for rape over consensual sex. Around 90% of rapists who participated in a 1986 study by Baxter et al. were more aroused by depictions of mutually enjoyable sex than violent rape. There are not significant differences between the arousal patterns of rapists and nonrapists.
In1979, rape laws were dramatically changed when General ZIA modified strategic aspects of the country’s legal system in accordance with Islamic restrictions. No longer part of the standard Panel Code, rape was included in the Offence of ZINA ordinance, itself a subcategory of ZIA’s enforcement of HUDOOD Ordinance of 1979. The ZINA Ordnance has had a profound effect on the right of the women, as it broadened the category of criminal sexual activity and defines how such crimes will be handled by the legal system. The prohibited sexual activities, including rape (ZINA-BIN-JABR), became religious offence.
Punishment
ZINA laws brought a significant change for the first time in Pakistan’s history. The punishment for illicit sex ,depends on both the evidence on which the conviction rests and the marital states of the offender .The maximum punishment is known as HADD, the singular of HADOOD, and is mandatory sentence that a judge may not mitigate.
Conditions Applied on the Punishment
The punishment is applicable only;
a) There are four adult, pious, male Muslim witnesses to the act of penetration, then the accused must be sentenced to death by stoning.
b) If on the other hand, the accused is NON-MUHSAN the crime is witnessed by four adult men, not necessarily Muslims, the accused must be sentenced to a hundred lashes with a whip. The testimony of four female witnesses, then the victim alone is not sufficient for the impositions of HADD punishment. A non Muslim person convicted of rape may receive in addition to a hundred lashes, “such other punishment including the sentence of death, as the court may deem fit having regard to the circumstances of the case.” On account of their harshness, HADD sentences require extraordinarily conclusive evidence. If the evidence falls short of the stringent threshold required for imposing the draconian HADD punishment. The accused may be sentenced to a lesser class of punishment known as TAZIR. It is important to note that insufficient evidence to impose a HADD punishment does not eliminate criminal liability. The TAZIR punishment for rape is up to 25 years
imprisonment and 30 lashes. For the purposes of TAZIR, no distinction is made between a MUHSAN and NON-MUHSAN offender. Because of the strict evidentiary requirements for HADD punishments, the overwhelming majority of rape cases are tried at the TAZIR level of evidence and punishment. All the HADD and TAZIR punishments must be conformed by an appellate court. To date, although HADD punishments have been imposed, none has been carried out.
Upon receiving a report of rape, the police should immediately register a First Information Report (FIR) detailing the nature of the crime contact a magistrate office which should be available twenty four hours a day to request a medico legal exam and then escort the complainant to the medico legal office for an exam. The police are also responsible for investigating the incident and delivering the results of the medico legal exam and any other evidence to the prosecutor to bolster his or her case against the defendant. None of the women Human Rights Watch interviewed in Karachi or Lahore had their cases handled in this way.
In practice women who try to report rape or sexual assault encounter a police system that is ,at best, incompetent and sometimes outright abusive .Since the police system generally the point of first contact with the criminal justice system, women victims in seeking justice for sexual or other assault ,encounter obstacles from the very beginning of the process. Virtually all the human rights lawyers and activists we interviewed reported that harassment, intimidation, physical abuse, and bribery of persons seeking the services of the police were common phenomena ,indicating endemic corruption and a serious lack of accountability and professionalism in a police force .Women who allege rape or abuse and their parties are particularly vulnerable to police misconduct owing to women’s low status in Pakistani society ,the stigma that is still attached to rape and the gender bias common among police. As the result of the latter the police are prone to disbelieve and belittle women victims particularly when they allege rape.
In addition to sabotaging women’s efforts to prosecute their attackers, Human Rights Watch found that it was not un common for the police to harass, intimidate, and even physically abuse the
complainer and her family members. The case of REHANA Z. was raped by two men who were aided by another man and women. REHANA Z lodged a compliant at Mangopir police station, but her case was subsequently transferred to Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Murid of S.I.T.E. (Sindh Industrial .and Technical Estate) area police station. The S.I.T.E. police came to Mangopir to pick up two defendants; they also took REHANA Z to the S.I.T.E. police station in the same vehicles as the two accused persons. During the ride, the accused threatened verbally abused REHANA Z. at the S.I.T.E. police station, REHANA and the two defendants were kept in the same cell for the night. A police woman then slapped REHANA Z and beat her with a wooden stick on her hands and the soles of her feet. Along with ASI Murid, she repeatedly pressed her to come to reconciliation with the defendants because “Tomorrow you will run off with someone else.” The police also called REHANA Z for money for food and other needs. She was dropped off at Mangopir police station the following day and released. Although ASI Murid was later suspended and a reinvestigation orders were issued due to the intervention of then Sindh Chief Minister Liaquat Jatoi. REHANA Z said the police was proceeding her case at a glacial pace and that any progress was due to continued pressure from the Human Right Commission of Pakistan and a legal aid NGO.
After being raped it is common for the victim to experience intense, and sometimes unpredictable, emotions, and they may find it hard to deal with their memories of the event. Victims can be severely traumatized by the assault and may have difficulty functioning as well as they had been used to prior to the assault, with disruption of concentration, sleeping patterns and eating habits, for example. They may feel jumpy or be on edge. In the month(s) immediately following the assault these problems may be severe and very upsetting and may prevent the victim from revealing their ordeal to friends or family, or seeking police or medical assistance. This may result in Acute Stress Disorder. Symptoms of this are:
• Feeling numb and detached, like being in a daze or a dream, or feeling that the world is strange and unreal
• Difficulty remembering important parts of the assault
• Reliving the assault through repeated thoughts, memories, or nightmares
• Avoidance of things — places, thoughts, feelings — that remind the victim of the assault
• Anxiety or increased arousal (difficulty sleeping, concentrating, etc.)
• Avoidance of social life or place of rape
It can also cause Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). However while the effects of rape can be truly horrible, and can impact some survivors' ability to function, it is important to remember that a survivor's response to rape is as unique and different as every person is. In fact a survivor may not have any of these responses to the rape, or they may have them, but not immediately following the assault. It's important to remember that there is no one correct way for a survivor of assault to respond to it.
In 1972, Ann Wolbert Burgess and Lynda Lytle Holstrom embarked on a study of the psychological effects of rape. They interviewed and counseled rape victims at the emergency room of Boston City Hospital and observed a pattern of reactions which they named Rape Trauma Syndrome. They defined this as having two components which they called the Acute and Reorganization phases.
During the Acute Phase the survivor may experience shock and disbelief, or feel frozen, and may attempt to disconnect themselves from "the person who was raped". They may feel humiliated, confused, dirty, ashamed, or at fault for the assault, particularly if the assailant was an acquaintance. Extreme nightmares, heightened anxiety, frequent flashbacks, and a strong attempt to disconnect from one's emotions are common, as is denial - trying to convince oneself that the assault did not actually occur. If raped by an acquaintance the victim may try to protect the perpetrator.
Victims may respond to the rape in either an expressive or a controlled way. The expressive way involves obvious outward effects and emotions such as crying, shaking, rage, tenseness, ironic and uncomfortable laughter (part of their denial), and restlessness. The controlled way occurs when the victim appears to be quite calm and rational about the situation, even if facing severe internal turmoil. There is no single response to rape; every individual deals with their intensely traumatic emotions differently.
After the acute phase, the Reorganization Phase begins and the survivor attempts to recreate the world that they once knew. This stage may last for months or even years following the assault and despite their best efforts this phase is often riddled with feelings of guilt, shame, fear, and anxiety. Emotions such as anger, anxiety, denial, and loss (of security) surface. Development of an inability to trust is a frequent consequence of sexual assault. This loss of the fundamental need for security can wreak havoc on the survivor’s life, causing them to feel powerless and not in control of their body. They may feel unsafe, which can cause a heightened state of anxiety as well as difficulty with intimate relationships. Victims may attempt to return to normal social interaction (i.e. go out to social engagements) and find themselves unable to do so and their attempts to re-establish themselves in relationships may be hindered by a lack of trust.
Survivors often isolate themselves from their support network either physically or emotionally. The survivor may feel disconnected from peers as a result of the perceived personal experience. The shattering of trust can adversely affect intimate relationships, as survivors may have a heightened suspicion of others' motives and feelings.
Another area of research referred to as "second victimization," has to do with the caustic and interrogatory way the police and medical staff sometimes treats people who allege rape or sexual assault.
Sexual assault can affect an individual forever, changing them into someone living in a constant state of turmoil. In extreme cases the outcome may be suicide.
Despite the alarmingly high incidence of rape and domestic violence in Pakistan, the government appears to be uninterested in limiting impunity for these acts. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan at least eight women are raped every twenty-four hours nationwide. Estimates of the number of women who experience domestic violence range from 70 to 95 percent-the government's own Commission of Inquiry for Women reported that it "has been described as the most pervasive violation of human rights" in Pakistan. The statistical evidence notwithstanding, the state officials Human Rights Watch spoke to invariably denied the severity, indeed the existence, of the problem of violence against women. Moreover, on August 2, 1999, the upper house of parliament refused even to consider a resolution condemning the ritual practice of so-called honor killing that claims the lives of hundreds of women every year.
The dismissive official attitudes toward violence against women reflect institutionalized gender bias that pervades the state machinery, including the law enforcement apparatus. Partly as a result of deep-seated and widespread biases against women, the criminal justice system does not operate as an avenue for redress and justice for women victims of violence. Victims who turn to the system confront a discriminatory legal regime, venal and abusive police, untrained medicolegal doctors, incompetent prosecutors, and skeptical judges. The deplorable level of medicolegal services in the country is itself a sign of the government's lack of will to tackle the problem of violence against women. Medical evidence plays a unique and critical role in prosecutions of sex crimes, the majority of victims of which are women. Particularly in light of the requirements of Pakistani rape law, a well-functioning medicolegal system is a practical prerequisite for the successful prosection of rape and sexual assault.
A comprehensive program of concrete measures and a deliberate reversal of existing government attitudes and polices is required to afford women victims of violence an effective remedy and equal protection of law. At a minimum, the government must enact legislation that explicitly establishes domestic and other familial violence as crimes. The discriminatory Zina Ordinance should be repealed, and Pakistan's previous rape laws should be re-enacted with an amendment to make marital rape a criminal offense. Police, medicolegal doctors, and prosecutors should be trained in the proper procedures for handling rape, sexual assault and domestic violence cases in their respective
professional capacities. The government should fund nongovernmental organizations to provide shelters, legal aid, counseling, and medical care for women victims of violence. The government of Pakistan is obligated, under its own constitution and international law, to take requisite steps to eliminate gender discrimination in the criminal justice system and to put an end to impunity for violence against women, itself a form of such discrimination.
But one cannot only blame government for those harsh acts. It is the need of the hour that our society should understand now that this is very critical matter and it should be stopped now. According to our own religion, it is forbidden and Islam gives women an honorable place in society and we should respect Islamic laws also. On one hand, if some non-Muslim points to our religion, we start fighting with him/her, but on the other hand, we ourselves breaking the rules and regulations of our religion and society. Now we should give same respect to our women, which is given by us to our own sisters, mothers and daughters. Government cannot be held 100% responsible, until society rectifies itself and then we can blame other factors.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=8dda8ae6-0d9f-44f6-a630-630c5339f996)
Comments
Post a Comment