ISLAMABAD, JUNE 1: Over a thousand honour killings take place yearly in Pakistan and in the Punjab province alone, which is the country's most populous, at least 700 women are raped every year, says a report of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.The report of the HRCP says that the majority of honour killings in Pakistan are when women use the right to marry persons of their own choice. Stove explosions have also killed many women, the report added.The Women's Action Forum, a group fighting for women's rights in Pakistan, has said that it will raise these issues regarding the nature and treatment of recent crimes committed against women. Other women organisations have also joined in the move.To illustrate government apathy to the cause of women, the HRCP relates the case of Shaheen Akhter, a 15-year-old, who was arrested by the police after she had been raped by servants of the house in which she worked.Akhter was arrested under the infamous Zina ordinance, which allows the police to arrest those whom it believes have committed adultery. More often than not, rape victims are arrested after the rapists allege that the women have committed adultery, which is a serious crime in Pakistan.After her arrest, Akhter was sent to Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail, where she contracted tuberculosis. The police brought Akhter to the hospital in May after repeated pleas, but she was put in fetters even while on the hospital bed. This despite the fact that the military government in Pakistan has banned the use of fetters on prisoners. Akhter died in hospital soon after.WAF has demanded to know why the men who were involved in the rape were allowed to go scot free while Akhter was arrested. WAF has also reported an incident where five Dutch women were molested in Lahore, while walking beside the Lahore Canal Bank."What is shocking about the incident is that hangers on did not try to intervene and save the Dutch women as they were being abused by several men," says the WAF.Women's organisations have appealed to the military government to put its words into action and deal with those involved in crime against women with an iron hand.The military government is still to arrest the parents of Samia Imran, a woman who was killed on the orders of her parents in Lahore last year, when she wanted to divorce her husband and marry another man.Women's organisations have also brought to attention the growing intolerance amongst certain sections of the community against various NGOs, particularly those involved in human rights and education.
