PTI’s lady lawmakers defend Imran’s comments on women

By News Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) female lawmakers on Tuesday came to the defence of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who came under fire for linking women’s dressing with rape during an interview with Axios’ Jonathan Swan.

Khan’s comments attracted intense criticism on social media as well as the opposition. “If a woman is wearing very few clothes it will have an impact, it will have an impact on the men, unless they’re robots. I mean it’s common sense,” Khan had said when asked about his previous stance on rape.

“Liberally corrupt goons should not dare to be the leaders and representatives of our women,” Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul Wazir said in a press conference with Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Justice Barrister Maleeka Bukhari and Parliamentary Secretary for Planning, Development and Reforms Kanwal Shauzab.

Wazir said there had been repeated efforts made by the “liberal brigade” to distort Prime Minister Imran Khan’s “strong efforts to project a positive and progressing image of the country”. She rejected the “accusations” raised by the critics accusing the Prime Minister of tainting the image of the victims of sexual violence.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan is a genuine symbol of women empowerment as for the first time five women parliamentarians have been made cabinet members, along with them 12 parliamentary secretaries are women including Maleeka Bukhari, Kanwal Shauzab and Aliya Hamza Malik who represent their ministries in Parliament,” she said.

She said: “My religion and culture gives me respect and we are believers of women rights that are enshrined in the teachings of Islam. Islam gives me freedom and liberty and I am proud to have it,” she added.

The aim, she said, of the PTI’s governance that any legislation and its implementation without women empowerment was futile and should be ensured in true letter and spirit. “Prime Minister Imran Khan is seriously concerned about women and girls and wants to ensure all possible facilities and protection for [those] facing sexual violence,” she said.

She said the PTI was the only party after the Pakistan Movement that mobilised women across the country where there was the only precedent of the towering figure of Fatima Jinnah. “I am a clear example in this regard where from a feudal tribal society I was elected as a parliamentarian and became a cabinet member, which has been possible only due to strong political support and backing of Prime Minister Imran Khan,” she remarked.

Maleeka Bukhari said the Prime Minister’s first directive to the Ministry of Law and Justice was to enact laws for reducing sexual violence and discrimination against women. “You cannot decide the Prime Minister’s priorities for women by just interpreting any of his statement out of context,” she said.

She said the Prime Minister had ordered the establishment of special courts under the anti-rape law passed by Parliament which was never done by any previous regime or prime minister.

Bukhari added: “Rape is a non-compoundable and complex offence against the state where our government established JITs (joint investigation teams), anti-rape crisis cells and special courts under the anti-rape law.”

“Under the Section-13 of the anti-rape law, the regrettable law of two finger testing to examine a rape victim has been abolished. Women’s character assassination has also been banned under this law whereas the trial process of such cases has been expedited,” she said.

“Our government has passed Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights and ensured a grass roots level implementation through the Deputy Commissioner and Women Ombudsman. We took strong and positive steps for curing rape,” she added.

Bukhari collectively invited all the political parties in the Parliament to partake in a national dialogue with a bipartisan approach to protect women and girls against sexual violence as they all need them. She said there was a “fancy word roaming over social media” with the aim to show “distorted facts” over the matter which should be shunned by the masses as a responsible society.