Sindh Assembly unanimously demands special tribunals to hear rape cases

The Sindh Assembly on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution calling upon the provincial government to establish special tribunals headed by women judges to hear the cases of female rape victims and to set up women police stations in every district of the province.

The resolution was moved in the house by Sindh Minister for Women Development Syeda Shehla Raza in connection with this year’s ongoing campaign of “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence”. The drive started on November 25 and will end on December 10.

The resolution also called for establishing forensic labs for analysis of DNA samples related to rape cases and also urged the provincial government to fill the vacant posts of women medico-legal officers at public sector hospitals.

Speaking about her resolution, Raza informed the house that this year’s theme of the campaign was the importance of gender equality and the fight against rape.

In connection with the current year’s theme, the minister said, she had posted a tweet on the page of the UN Women to urge the global quarters to take notice of the vicious tactics being used by the Indian forces in the Occupied Kashmir to use rape as a weapon against the

oppressed Kashmiri population.

She said demands written in her resolution were in accordance with the recommendations of the local programme held to mark the campaign. She said establishing women police stations was the dream of late prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Raza said special women desks should be established in every police station of Sindh.

She said the Sindh Assembly’s building had been illuminated with orange lights to mark the campaign. Raza said a programme was held where all the members of the house were invited to commemorate the campaign.

Some 6,000 organisations in 187 countries of the world had been associated with the ongoing campaign against the issue of gender-based violence, she said. The minister sought support from all house members, both from the treasury and the opposition, to support the demands written in her resolution.

Karo-Kari case

Later on, Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani informed the house that he had learnt about an alleged incident of Karo-Kari (honour killing) in which a girl was stoned to death only through media reports.

He said the provincial government had received no “formal complaint” about the Karo-Kari incident in which Gul Sama, belonging to a remote hilly area of Dadu which is a border area of Sindh and Balochistan, had been stoned to death.

The provincial minister said “no solid evidence had emerged so far” that could point out that the girl had been stoned to death.

He, however, said an investigation would be carried out after the exhumation of the body and a post-mortem examination.

DHA kidnapping

Ghani informed the Sindh Assembly that he had established contact with father of Dua Mangi, a young woman who was kidnapped in Defence Housing Authority on Saturday. The information minister said he had assured Dua’s father that the government would do its best to recover the abducted woman.

Police had been thoroughly investigating the case and found some important evidences which could help solve the case, he added. He conceded that the kidnapping incident area was quite alarming. He, however, said no one should think that provincial authorities were indifferent to such criminal incidents.