Adil Najam
Sometimes you see a headline that just stops you in your tracks and makes you wonder. I saw such a headline in The Daily Times today: “At Least 100 Rapes in Karachi a Day.“
The story is reporting a statement by Dr. Zulfiqar Siyal, Additional Police Surgeon (APS), Karachi, where he claims that on average, 100 women are raped in Karachi every 24 hours. It takes a little careful reading to realize that he is not saying that this is the number of actual rapes per day, but that he thinks that it must at least be this much and possibly more. In fact, he himself points out that the number of reported rapes are much less, because of the social stigma of reporting such a crime.
I have no reason to is agree with the statement from the APS. Indeed, I have plenty of reason to believe that he is right and that the real number of rapes must be much more. But I did want to make sure that readers interpret the news report properly. Excerpts from the report.
On average, 100 women are raped every 24 hours in Karachi city alone, and a majority of them are working women, said Additional Police Surgeon (APS) Dr Zulfiqar Siyal. A majority of them are working class women or those working as domestic help and are mostly up to 20 years old, he said.
“I am saying with full authority that such a large number of rape cases happen in the city,†he told Daily Times on the sidelines of a discussion on sexual violence organised by the Aurat Foundation on Monday. “But very few rape survivors have the courage to come forward in search of justice.†They do not come forward because of the lengthy medical process and delayed justice system in Pakistan. Only 0.5 percent of cases are reported and the majority (99.5 percent) of survivors prefers to stay silent.
Part of the problem is that there are 11 medico-legal sections in three major public sector hospitals but there are only six women medico-legal officers (WMLOs) for the 18 million population of Karachi. “I am sure that there are more than 100 rape cases every day … but you can gauge how many are reported from the official data which says that during the last eight months (between January to August 2008) a total of 197 cases were reported,†Dr Siyal said. The WMLOs also face a lot of problems, he said. Karachi is also short on hospitals where rape survivors can go through the entire medical examination. “It isn’t just medical facilities but you won’t find a single women police officer (WPO) in any of the total 101 police stations of the city,†he said.
I think that even more important than the number he gives is the point he makes about the majority of rape victims in Karachi being working class women or those working as domestic help, 20 years old or younger. My own sense would be that the situation is not much different anywhere else in Pakistan, whether in terms of the numbers or in terms of who the victims are. I am very glad that the APS has spoken up. I wish more people would, including more victims. However, I can understand all the reasons why many victims do not. As in many societies, this crime persists because the social stigma is attached to the victim even more than the culprit. It is but one aspect of the deeper scars of violence against women.
As with so many other crimes against humanity, rape this a crime that thrives on silence. Not only the silence of the victim, but the silence of society. When, as in this case, the silence is broken, one feels empowered. One hopes that others will break the silence too.
Also see:
Silent Against Domestic Violence
Violence Against Women: Breaking Down Walls
Being Woman in Pakistan
Celebrating the Lives of Pakistani Women
Changing Rape Laws in Pakistan
@Sonya
The first link you referred to was regarding Egyptians. I must tell you that in Egypt nearly 63% men of 30 and below remain unmarried. This is because if one wants to marry he must first own atleast an apartment, the cost of which is beyond the means of many. Men out of frustration turn to religion or seek some other methods to suppress the need.
“Although statistics in Egypt are notoriously wobbly, there are signs that some pressing social tensions have eased. Ten years ago, for instance, 63% of Egyptian men remained unmarried at 30, a frightening indicator in a tradition-bound society where marriage is seen as a prerequisite for independence and adulthood. That figure fell to 45% in 2006. This shows that the cost of marriage, which typically includes the purchase and furnishing of a house, remains prohibitive for many, but it also suggests that the level of youth frustration may be dropping. Crucially, too, for a country whose inhabited area is barely the size of the Netherlands, the rate of population growth has slowed, from 2.3% a year in the 1980s to 1.9% today.”
http://www.economist.com/world/mideast-africa/disp laystory.cfm?story_id=12202321
If the figure 100 rapes a day is close to actual by any measure and including any definition of rape then
36,000 rapes per year and 360,000 rapes over the last 10 years.
In a population of 10 million consider half of them is women then this comes to around 8% of women were raped over the last 10 years.
And we are not taking into account the abuse of young boys ….
How about addressing the following two types of rape:
1). Date rape
2). Wife rape
I believe the above two are more of a problem than domestic female staff being raped. The domestic help is more than unlikely to come forth and report such incidents.
Can we have a candid discussion the above two types of rape?
@ Tina
“What protects women from rape is an environment in which attacking women is not acceptable,”
You have just confirmed the very point that I was trying to make. Modesty on the part of women is needed, but public punishment and humiliation is needed for offenders. This is why the complete package of Islamic law is needed, not just the bits that seem pleasing to us or the influental superpowers.
And you made another stark point – that is women working. Islam clearly permits women to work is the need arises, but today, practically every family needs their women working as well as the men because there is so much poverty and inflation. And the reason for that is we have adopted a Riba (interest) based economic system where the banks get richer and the population gets poorer! Another example clearly highlighting that Islamic law needs to be implemented as a whole and not partially for there to be properity. The Islamic caliphates of the past have clearly demonstrated the justice of a complete Islamic system. Those were the days when the Muslims were the richest in the world.
To Zecchetti,
There are different studies and projects which confirm what I asserted–I don’t have them at my fingertips.
From personal experience, I have had friends who became more committed to religion after college or later in life. After they started wearing hijab, they were disgusted to find out they were teased and harrassed more often than before.
We discussed it and decided that for some reason boys think conservatively dressed girls are shy and timid and therefore easier targets. When the girls went about bareheaded, men felt they were more assertive and independent, so perhaps it would not be safe to tease them.
I feel this is perhaps a partial explanation, although the whole subject is complex. It’s enough to say that wearing hijab is not a safeguard against eve teasing, rather the opposite in some cases.
People argue about what is meant by hijab in the Q’uran, whether its normal but modest dress or the burqa or something in between. I don’t want to get into that debate or speculate as to the reason for hijab. Its purpose, however, cannot be to protect women from rape, since it clearly does not do that.
What protects women from rape is an environment in which attacking women is not acceptable, a society in which women are perceived as equal even when they are out of work raising their families, and a functioning judiciary. Pakistan, among many other countries, is far down the continuum on these points. However I think social justice for all poor people would be the first big step forward for poor women–I think these things go hand in hand.