It is a pity that violence against women in Pakistan is rampant now. It is done in different shapes such as sexual harassment, emotional, physical and psychological torture. Women are still living in a world where they are not safe anywhere, not in bedrooms, boardrooms and barracks. Violence against women (VAW), once treated as a forbidden text is now a yardstick for measuring national progress. Gone are the days when declaring yourself a feminist was not only fraught but instantly branded you mad, immoral, and a threat to society’s balance. Today while it remains ‘controversial’, new age social media is abuzz with conversations about the Matilda effect, entrenched misogyny and the patriarchal consensus. Despite this evolution, our women are not safe anywhere.
Women in Pakistan are also unprotected everywhere, from homes to hospitals, grounds to graves, and roads to reels. There are countless faces of VAW, each continuing to evolve and multiply. While defending the dignity of survivors, the process of reporting incidents, filing FIRs (first information reports), accessing medico legal support, obtaining legal aid, or finding safe shelter remain overwhelmingly and often inaccessible.
Many landmark conferences, particularly the international conference on population and development in Cairo and the Fourth world conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, laid the foundation for future feminist movements. Signs of domestic violence were shown to patients in hospitals, stories of ‘accidental’ burns, stove bursts, unexplained fractures and more. Dowry violence is also a big problem for married women for not bringing enough amenities for their in-laws during marriages.
When will VAW end? No end date exists for VAW but at today’s pace, the WEF guesses gender parity will not arrive until 2154, and the UN warns of a 300 year wait for full legal equality. Pakistan has a range of pro women laws, but due to inequality before law, their implementation remains inconsistent and often ineffective. Hence stronger and more specific laws targeting various forms of VAW and enabling greater agency for women are necessary. While 100% prevention is unlikely, economically empowered women are better equipped to combat VAW and improve their own lives. Women’s safety is a right and not a privilege. Women are in dire need of institutional protection so their rights could not be infringed by men in any form.
