Islamabad, Pakistan
CNN
—
The alleged gang-rape of a woman in a Pakistani park has infuriated women’s rights activists, protesting what they see as “a rise in sexual barbarism” in the country. There is
A 24-year-old woman, who was with a male colleague at Fatima Jinnah Park in the capital Islamabad (known locally as F9 Park, the largest park in the city), was attacked by two armed men last Thursday. It is said that they were attacked by us. The police as seen by CNN.
The woman claimed the men took them to the “jungle area” of the park, where they stripped them of their clothes and raped them.
She said she told her men shouldn’t be in the park at night and asked her about her relationship with a co-worker.
“When I answered, they hit me. They pulled my hair and threw me on the floor,” the woman said in a police statement.
The incident sparked outrage in a country of 220 million people. The country is strongly patriarchal, and violent attacks against women and girls frequently make headlines.
Many protesters tied dupattas (scarves worn by South Asian women) to the railings of the park with messages calling for change.
There was a note that read, “Please don’t make other sisters suffer.” “Save Pakistani women and children,” read another article.
The rights group Aurat Azadi March (Women’s Freedom March) said in a statement: “Sexual barbarism is on the rise in Pakistan and it is unacceptable for the state and society to remain criminally silent about it.” said.
“We are furious. We are in pain. And we will never forget this.”
An Islamabad police spokesperson told CNN that no arrests have been made so far.
Fatima Jinnah Park is a sprawling oasis in an affluent neighborhood in the heart of Islamabad with a high security presence. It is often compared to New York’s Central Park. This is because many families gather for festivals and children play in the park all day long.
The government on Sunday ordered national television channels not to report the alleged assault, citing the need to protect the woman’s identity.
In a statement, Pakistan’s electronic media regulator said the broadcast of news reports would be “immediately banned”.
According to Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission, more than 5,200 women have been reported to have been raped in the country in 2021, but experts say many women will be raped before due to social stigma and victim stigma. We think the real number is much higher because we are afraid to come out.
Citing the War on Rape, a Karachi-based nonprofit, Reuters reported in December 2020 that less than 3% of sexual assault or rape cases lead to conviction in Pakistan.
In December 2020, Pakistan strengthened its rape law and created a special court to try cases within four months and provide women with medical examinations within six hours of a complaint being filed. But activists say Pakistan continues to let women down and the lack of a nationwide law criminalizing domestic violence leaves many vulnerable to assault.
The 2021 beheading of Pakistani ambassador’s daughter Nour Mukadam shocked the country and protesters called on the government to do more to protect women.
Her killer, Zahir Jafar, a 30-year-old Pakistani-U.S. dual citizen who knew Mukadam and was the son of an influential family, was sentenced to death by a judge in Islamabad last February. it was done.