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Three
brave women narrated their sorrowful tales to
highlight the sorry state of women rights at a press
briefing on Monday at the Madadgaar Helpline office
on the eve of International Women’s Day.
Also, the NGO shared data of the last two months in
which around 765 cases of violence against women
were reported across the country.
One of the women, 18-year-old Komal, who recently
escaped from a prostitution den in Safoora Goth,
said she was forced into prostitution for two years
by her husband.
“After my father passed away in 2006, his friend, a
police inspector Akram Cheema, held us hostage, and
started living in our house. He got me and my two
sisters married off to the owners of a prostitution
den,” said Komal. Her husband, Mohammad Razzak, had
married five times.
“When I refused to indulge in such dirty work,
Razzak and the rest of the men would beat me up and
rape me. There were fifteen other women with me who
were also forced into prostitution. The men even
made videos of us.”
Komal was sent to dens in Nawabshah and Hyderabad,
while in Karachi she was forced to “serve” people in
Gulistan-i-Johar and Defence.
“My price was Rs50,000 for a week. The owners got
the money and did not give us a single penny.”
Komal finally got a chance to run away from the
horrifying life and with the help of the NGO reached
the police.
“Though the police conducted a raid on the den on
February 26 and many girls were recovered, my
sisters were not found. I request the high-ups to
save my family,” she pleaded.
Another young woman, Raisa, shared her tale of being
subjected to domestic violence. “On the first night
of my marriage, my husband forcibly took back the
Haq Mehar money by forcing me into signing papers.
That was the beginning of my bad days.”
Later, he snatched her gold jewelry, cut her hair,
burnt her arm with an iron, and thrashed her every
single day.
“Though he has divorced me, he continues to threaten
me as I’ve moved the court to get back the dowry
money.”
Shabiran, a widow hailing from Jamshoro, is fighting
against the murderers of her husband. They are no
other than her brothers. “It is embarrassing to say
that my own brothers are responsible for messing up
my life. They killed my husband, took over my
property and house, and made me live the life of a
scum,” she said amidst tears.
Despite the fact that Shabiran’s case reached the
court twice, it got dissolved as her brother is a
DSP. “I don’t know what to do. I’m working as a
domestic worker to support my children.”
Out of the 765 cases of violence reported against
women, 150 were tortured, 122 were murdered, 71 were
raped or gang-raped and 104 were trafficked during
the last two months.
Project Coordinator of Madadgaar Helpline Zia Ahmed
Awan said that only 10 percent of the cases of
violence against women could come to the fore.
“A majority of the women do not report cases as they
avoid going to police stations and courts. The
situation of women rights is very alarming, and the
government has failed to provide protection and
security to the women living in this country.”
He said that action should be taken against Jirgas
which pass discriminatory decisions on issues
relating to women.
“It is the prime responsibility of the government to
empower women. Also the government should make sure
that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women which it has
ratified should be implemented.” |
