A woman's place is in the struggle

A woman's place is in the struggle:

Fighting back against sexual violence

Gojra is a city with 135,000 residents in the Toba Tek Singh district of the Pakistani province of the Punjab. Over a period of a few days in early December, five girls, ranging in age between five to seven, were abducted while on their way to primary school in Gojra by gangs of young men. The girls were raped, beaten and left for dead.

Residents came together and with the support of progressive organisations in Lahore — the nearest major city, with more than 6 million inhabitants — organised a campaign against sexual violence.

This is an inspiring development as such crimes are often ignored, condoned or even encouraged in Pakistani law and society. Women of all ages suffer from high rates of rape, sexual assault and domestic violence, particularly women in rural areas. Seventy-five per cent of Pakistan's female population lives in rural areas, are largely illiterate, face constant motherhood and poor health.

According to a report by the Sahil children's rights organisation, issued on December 22, 197 female children were raped in Pakistan in the first nine months of 2004. The NGO complied this figure from monitoring 27 national newspapers.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimates that the actual incidence of rape of young girls is probably double or triple the officially reported figure.

There is great social pressure upon rape victims and their families not to report the attack to the police. Rape victims and their families who do, will frequently be ostracised by friends and neighbours. Perpetrators and their families can threaten further violence if a “compromise” or “forgiveness” is not offered by the victim's family.

Further discouraging rape victims from reporting the attack to the police is the way victims are treated by the courts. Not only is the victim's sexual history up for public examination and discussion, but women who file rape charges can be prosecuted for illicit sex under the 1979 Hadood Ordinances.

Under these regulations, the victim's statement has no testimonial value and should the victim be unable to produce four male witnesses to testify on her behalf, she can be charged with zina (having had sex outside of marriage). This “crime” carries a maximum penalty of stoning to death in public.

Failing this, a lighter sentence of imprisonment and whipping can be imposed. The usual punishment for zina is 4-10 years imprisonment and 30 lashes. Minors can be convicted of zina, with a lighter sentence of up to five years imprisonment and 30 lashes.

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, 50% of women who report rapes end up being charged with committing zina.

Pakistani law therefore condones and reinforces the idea that it is the rape victim who is to blame for the attack.

The Gojra community, however, refused to condone or accept the attacks on the five girls and started organising to fight back. The Labour Party of Pakistan, a well-known left-wing party, responded by organising a protest on December 10 in Lahore demanding that compensation be paid to the victims, that the chief minister of Punjab visit the victims, and that the local administration be removed. It also called on local communities experiencing such attacks to form defence committees and for a national awareness campaign to be organised against violence on women and children. The protest took place at the Lahore Press Club, and the headquarters of the main private TV channel, GEO.

Azra Shad, the chairperson of Women Workers Helpline, one of the sponsors of the Lahore rally told Green Left Weekly: “We need to explain why these crimes take place and address the root causes. Social customs such as karo kari — honour killing — and exchange marriages, regressive laws such as the Hadood Ordinances and Law of Evidence all encourage violence against women and children. We need to abolish these laws and customs if we wish to see an end to sexual crimes.”

On December 15, Father Bonnie Mendes, a Catholic priest in Toba Tek Singh, convened a community meeting to discuss the rapes of the primary schoolgirls. The meeting resolved to publicise the issue by distributing leaflets and talking to the local press, for parents to organise defence units to escort young children to school.

Under mounting public outrage across Pakistan, Punjab Chief Minister Chaudry Pervaiz Elahi visited the families of the five schoolgirls on December 20, and ordered the suspension of, and dismissal proceedings against, four senior police officers for negligence and dereliction of duty in the rape cases. This sent a strong message to the entire Pakistani police force to take reports of such crimes seriously.

Linda Waldron

The author is a member of the Socialist Alliance and visited Pakistan late last year.

From Green Left Weekly, February 2, 2005.