Horrors of injustice

It is difficult even to imagine the plight of those who have suffered the most horrific crimes and then denied justice. The horror is even greater when the crime involves a brutal act of gang-rape followed by murder – of a child. Social stigma adds to the emotional trauma in such cases. We should all then be standing with the woman who told the media at the Daharki Press Club that 28 days ago she and her 12-year-old daughter were gang-raped after being drugged by three men. The daughter was then set alight and she subsequently died of her injuries. The incident took place in a village in Ghotki district, which the mother and daughter were visiting to sell traditional Sindhi quilts they had made. They had been forced to take shelter in a house due to weather conditions.
Even though the woman named the three men involved, and a Ghotki sessions court took suo motu notice of the case, no arrests were made despite the fact that almost a month has passed since the crime. After the press talk a court has ordered cases be registered against the named persons. It is appalling that this had not happened earlier. Levels of apathy, or perhaps deliberate neglect, in cases like this contribute to more such crimes being committed. There are numerous cases in which perpetrators are protected by police and other officials, often on the basis of their wealth and influence. This just encourages others. The problem is especially acute when the victims are poor and disempowered. As rural artisans, the two women assaulted in Ghotki clearly fall into this category. Their gender of course made them more vulnerable in an already unequal society. The catastrophe that took place must be treated as such. Too many crimes are simply overlooked and allowed to fade away. This must not happen in this case. Now that the horrific details are in the public realm we must all act to make certain this is ensured, rule of law upheld and the criminals punished. Our failure to deliver justice to people has left us grappling with very grave social problems. These need to be addressed. The lack of access to justice simply aggravates the agony ordinary people face everywhere in the country. It also promotes crime and exacerbates the inferior status given to women in a society that continually abuses them in many different ways as happened in the case at Ghotki.