CHALLENGES

Women who approach the police to prosecute their rapist are brave, yet often punished for their courage. Police officers often rape women who come forward, worsening their already drastic and traumatic situation. Police have an impact on rape cases since they can choose whether to file charges. Police action and inaction in rape cases in Pakistan have in fact been widely reported as an instrumental element to injustice. There is evidence that police have deliberately failed to file charges against men accused of rape, often using the threat of converting the rape charge into a zina prosecution against the woman to discourage them from reporting. Whenever the perpetrator of this offense is a police officer himself, the chances of pursuing a case against him are nearly nonexistent

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Sources: Quaraishi 1-29.

The legal system prevents victims from

receiving justice by showing that  48% of judges agree that their husbands can beat women and 74% side with family honor over violence against the woman. A biased justice system allows these atrocious acts to occur without punishment, further promoting and permitting domestic violence.  Domestic violence is not considered a severe offense especially because the government does not categorize it as one. Often, men who rape, beat, even murder innocent women are never prosecuted. Physical assailant is rarely punished, so rarely is it reported. When government policies make domestic violence seem admissible, then both men and women approach it the same way. 

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Sources: Coomaraswamy 4731 & Siddiqui 1-17

Pakistan’s president in 2005, General Pervez
Musharraf, caused controversy when he called rape a
source of income in September of 2005 (Verma, 6). It
began with him not allowing Mukhtar Mai to leave
Pakistan to visit America to speak about what she
endured (Verma 6). When the president came to the UN
he said in an interview with The Washington Post, “This
(rape) has become a money making concern. A lot of
people say if you want to go abroad and get a visa for
Canada or citizenship and be a millionaire, get yourself
raped. It is the easiest way of doing so [getting money]”
(Verma, 6). The president suggested that women use
rape as the means to sell themselves for money or to
leave Pakistan. Extremely insensitive and offensive, the
president furthered his idea of rape and domestic
violence, by characterizing it inaccurately and unfairly.

Sources: Verma 6

Some customs in Pakistan reveal gender
inequality and promote disrespect towards women. An
example is: “Women might greet each other with a
handshake, hug, or kiss. It is inappropriate for a man to
shake hands with or touch a woman who is not his close
relative; however, he may greet a man's wife verbally without looking directly at her" Another public custom, “It is inappropriate for members of the opposite sex to touch in public” Any form of interaction between unmarried men and women is frowned upon and prohibited by the Pakistani government. The disdain that occurs in relevance to women and men interacting causes all interactions between men and women to be seen as sexual, which furthers women’s assumed role as sexual objects.

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Sources: “Pakistan”

Domestic violence affects more than just the
current generation. Research has shown that boys who
witness abuse are more likely to abuse their wives and
family in the future. Since the abuse is common, this study infers that the percentage of women experiencing domestic violence in Pakistan is going to continue to increase in the future. In addition to the violence likely spreading to the next generation, the victims of domestic violence often suffer from mental illnesses thereafter. “Women who are abused by their partners suffer more depression, anxiety and phobias than non-abused women, according to studies in Australia, Nicaragua, Pakistan and the United States”

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Sources:  (Coomaraswamy 4731) and (“Violence by intimate partners”).

A high socioeconomic status has generally been found to offer some protection against the risk of physical violence against an intimate partner, although exceptions do exist.  “Studies from a wide range of settings show that, while physical violence against partners cuts across all socioeconomic groups, women living in poverty are disproportionately affected” When the abused women are unemployed they do not have enough income to support themselves and their children. Therefore, it is nearly impossible for them to leave a violent or abusive relationship.

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Sources: Coomaraswamy 4731 & "Violence By Intimate Partners" 39

Privacy is a challenge because although the beatings are occasionally public, domestic violence
mainly occurs in the home behind closed doors. This
makes the cases of domestic violence difficult to record.
This aspect of domestic violence does not have a clear
solution because the public rarely knows what happens
in the privacy of a home.