Victim blaming

Over the past few years, Pakistan has witnessed a phenomenal rise in rape, assault and abuse cases. Most cases however still remain unreported, mainly due to fear of stigma or pressure from the family. Another big reason that stops victims from reporting is lack of trust in the judicial system. Reported cases are mostly pending in courts and culprits get away due to weak prosecution.

Pakistan is a country with an approximately 49 percent female population. Women play a vital role in the economy and progress of the country be it in the field of politics, journalism, business, education etc. But this is one side of the picture. The other side has been quite horrific and devastating.

On August 14, 2021, a mob of 400 men openly abused and assaulted a female TikToker, who was filming a video in front of Minar-e-Pakistan. Nobody came to rescue the victim from the mob of vultures. There was rage on social media against her assault, with many political and social leaders raising their voice immediately for the victim and demanding justice for her. Civil society, human rights activists etc have largely condemned the barbaric act but unfortunately in this same society there are some sadistic minds who believe in blaming the victim for being assaulted.

In the case of Noor Mukadam, the 27-year-old woman recently beheaded brutally in Islamabad by an acquaintance who is currently under trial, the civil society and the entire nation condemned this barbaric act but as usual some insensitive people started blaming the victim by giving some bizarre reasoning and justification to the murder.

This polarization in our society is suppressing humanity and haunting victims and their families who need support and healing after going through so much trauma. This is the reason why most of the rape cases are not reported; the problem lies is the justice system as well as the disturbing social behaviour against the victim/survivor.

PM Khan in an earlier – infamous – interview had mentioned women’s clothing when talking about rape and sexual assault. He had implied that clothes have an impact on men unless they are ‘robots’. This statement backfired and later he had to take a U-turn on this but the damage was already done. Such an insensitive statement coming from the head of government was a shock for the nation. Such statements make it seem to perpetrators that they can get away with any sort of molestation or abuse as the PM himself has put the burden of assault on the victims’/survivors’ shoulders.

It is only recently that a horrific case of necrophilia triggered the country when some men dug up the grave of a 14-year-old girl who had died of natural causes, and raped the corpse.

Such incidents show the ugly side of the society we live in. The fact is that victims and survivors are never at fault; they are the ones who need empathy, care and respect from society – and especially from the government. Any insensitive comment can cause them extreme psychological trauma as they suffer isolation after assault. This is why it is extremely important for society to treat survivors/victims with the same honour as they treated them before and to not isolate them.

And the misogynist theory that wearing ‘provocative’ clothing stimulates sexual aggression in men must be dumped since no victim or survivor ever asks to be abused. Even the survivor of the motorway rape case that sparked national outrage was blamed by a senior police officer for checking her fuel.

Victim blaming and judging a woman's character is a deep-rooted dilemma of our society which needs to be removed. If society acts responsibly and the justice system solves such cases on a priority basis, then many other women who face domestic violence would get hope to register cases against the assaulters.

A stable and balanced society is built only when women are safe, respected and honoured by all. There should be no space for misogyny in our society. Pakistan needs to work on creating awareness and implementing strict laws to punish culprits and encourage victims to report any sort of assault. The impact of recent horrific assault cases will be severe on the women and children of our society. They need a safe and protected environment to live in – and most importantly there should be an end to victim blaming once and for all.

The writer is a columnist and social activist.

Twitter: @MustafaBaloch_