Abducted peace

On June 28, a 30-year-old woman, Wazira Chhachhar, resident of Jamshoro district, was stoned to death by her husband.

Wazira’s family had asked her husband’s sister to marry Wazira’s brother as per an arranged commitment. Wazira’s husband refused to fulfil this commitment. First he threatened her, then he beat her and finally he killed her by stoning. The police registered an FIR after days. And so far no culprit has been arrested.

Fear of the law and efficiency of law-enforcement agencies are normally crucial factors that compel an offender to rethink about their intention to commit a crime. Crime statistics against women and children in Pakistan, would give us a complete picture of how ‘efficient’ our law-enforcement agencies are in preventing crime against the vulnerable.

Laws such as the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act, 2012, Prevention of Anti Women Practices – Criminal Law (Third Amendment) Act, 2011 and the Criminal Law (Second Amendment) Act, 2011 have already been passed. Ideally after these laws, one should have seen a steep decline in crimes against women; however, the case is opposite here.

The European Union is working with the government of Pakistan to improve Pakistan’s position on the Global Gender Gap Index. EU, quoting the NGO White Ribbon Pakistan, has reported that 4,734 cases of sexual violence, 15,000 honour crimes, more than 1,800 cases of domestic violence and over 5,500 kidnappings of women were recorded between 2004 and 2016. More than 51,241 cases of violence against women were reported between January 2011 and June 2017, but only 2.5 percent of all reported cases resulted in a criminal sentence.

According to data compiled by the Sustainable Social Development Organization (SSDO), only in March 2020, they noted a 200 percent rise in violence against children and women, which shows how ‘fast’ and ‘efficient’ our legal system is.

The government of Sindh has announced a budget of Rs113.87 billion for law and order for the upcoming financial year 2020-21, with an increase of more than Rs4 billion from the previous year’s budget of Rs109 billion. The progress of the Sindh Police in preventing crimes against the women and children is also in front of us: in the cases of Wazira Chhachhar, Dr Nimarta Chandarni, Fazila Sarki, Naila Rind, Tania Khaskheli, Zameera Massan, Ramsha Wassan, Radha Bheel, Bibi Mari, and so on. Crimes including kidnaping for ransom, robbery, rape, assault, deadly tribal conflicts, sexual harassment, sale of illegal drugs, are on the rise in the province.

The brutality with which Wazira’s life was ended shows that there is negligible fear of the legal consequences of brutal murder. State institutions operating in Sindh have failed to protect the vulnerable. We need a full functional legal institution for the maintenance of law and order in the country. A few suggestions would be helpful: Employment of graduates of gender studies in police departments should be ensured. These graduates should be deputed at each police station. They should be responsible to visit each village on a weekly basis to educate the people on gender equality, and the legal consequences of violence against women and children. They should provide 24/7 emergency helpline numbers as rapid response against violence.

The IG of police should collect the data of violence against women and children. If any incident happens, and is not reported, the police should come forward on behalf of the state to register the FIR and arrest the criminals. Those SSPs who do not produce significant results of reducing crime against women and children should be demoted.

And the Supreme Court of Pakistan should establish a special model court to try offenders in a one-month trial.

The writer is a freelance contributor. Email: ayazsamo@yahoo.com