Even Islamabad witnesses 127 cases of violence against women

‘Violence against Women in Pakistan’; A Qualitative Review of Statistics for 2010, Launched

Out of a total 8000 incidents of violence against women reported throughout the country in 2010, the capital has witnessed as many as 127 which is quite alarming given the smaller population and high security maintained in the capital. However, the high literacy rate and awareness among women coupled with comparatively easier access to reporting centres might be one of reasons behind the higher number of violence cases being reported from the capital. 5492 cases were reported from Punjab; 1652 from Sindh; 650 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 79 from Balochistan says Policy Data Monitoring Programme – Violence against Women (PDM-VAW) of Aurat Foundation that launched its third annual report of violence against women in Pakistan titled ‘Violence against Women in Pakistan’: A Qualitative Review of Statistics for 2010 on Tuesday at Islamabad Hotel (Holiday Inn) in a seminar.

Ms Anis Haroon, Chairperson NCSW, in her concluding remarks, said that mega violence in Pakistan like terrorism etc is one the major reason that is dumping the issue of violence against women under the carpet.   He also highlighted the post-18^th Amendment scenario of various issues of women’s rights, particularly so after the devolution of ministry of women development (MoWD).  For example, after the 18^th Amendment, now the passage of ‘Domestic Violence Bill’ has now become a provincial need i.e. that now it would have to be passed by the provincial assemblies.

While referring to use of influence in police affairs, she emphasized the need for comprehensive reforms in police department.  She stress the government to penalized and criminalize the parallel judicial systems like Jirga, Punchayats etc.

Ms Rabeea Hadi, the National Coordinator PDM-VAW, gave a welcome note on the annual report.  He note was followed by a presentation on the Statistical Review of Violence against Women, by Dr Rakhshanda Parveen. Naeem Mirza, Chief Operating Officer, Aurat Foundation, shared some major features of the report.  He said that the 50 district of the Pakistan on top in the list of rate of violence against women are in fact on the same position since 2008.  Karachi, a highly populated city of Pakistan, shows less violence compared to other mega cities of the country.  He however didn’t agree that it meant Karachi is more women friendly city or a city highly sensitized city reference to women folk.  He said that may be due to prevalence of other forms of violence in Karachi has overshadowed the violence against women in Karachi.

Mr Ehsan Sadiq, in his presentation, said that although the situation of violence against women is not encouraging, however, this is a fact that now most of the cases of violence against women are now get registered, which would surely bring sustainable positive change by eliminating violence against women.  He applauded the role of civil society organizations, particularly the Aurat Foundation, in raising awareness against violence against women.  He suggested that in order to change the face of police institution and make it more sensitized towards women, the government shall increase the number of women in police department. He said that for sustainable change in police department in this regards, it is necessary to introduce overall reforms in the department.

Based on the reported cases in a majority of newspapers of Pakistan, no FIR was registered in a large number of incidents, reflecting the citizens’ lack of confidence in police. Ms Anis Haroon, Chairperson, National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) chaired the seminar.  Mr Ehsan Sadiq, Assistant Inspector General of Police Islamabad, presided over the session. The findings of the Report were presented by Dr Rakhshanda Perveen, founder Director of Creative Anger and the author of the Report.