Pakistan: Increasing violence against women

Startling new studies conducted by four different research bodies, all initiated by Rutgers WPF, have disclosed that domestic violence against women in Pakistan has increased. While such news is alarming, it is not all that surprising. The statistics tell of how as much as 85 percent of women in the country face one or the other form of violence by an intimate male member of the family; almost 47 percent of women are physically abused during pregnancy; a fifth of all pregnant women have been beaten so badly they have aborted; 40 percent face forced abortion because of carrying a female foetus, and the horrid list goes on. Women in Pakistan have always been receiving the hard end of the bargain. These statistics, while enough to make one wince at their enormity and callousness, are not uniquely new. However, what is new is the fact that the abuse and suffering women have faced in Pakistan has not just continued — it has increased. One would expect that as the years go by and awareness and globalised thought settles into society, there would be more civility and restraint practiced against such primitive violence. However, while the modern age has certainly afforded women more exposure to their rights and has empowered them enough to at least start asking for them, patriarchal societies like ours feel threatened by modernisation. The majority of men in our society are used to having their way with women, preferring to leave them illiterate and unaware of their rights. In this way, they have controlled and abused them since times immemorial. However, in this day and age, women are shaking up the accepted norm; they are fighting for their education, going out into the workplace and becoming important, productive members of public life. This is a complete turnaround for Pakistani men who are used to a domestic life where they are the kings and can get away with anything, even abuse levelled at the women of the house. It is not just husbands but fathers, brothers and even sons who are to blame for this alarming increase. Unfortunately, there is still not enough social awareness in Pakistan for us to effectively battle this trend. Victims of domestic violence have no avenues to report or lodge a complaint as it is traditionally thought that whatever happens in the home should not be outed. Women have long been marginalised in our society and have been its most repressed members. They have only now started asserting themselves and that is why the segment of society that has enjoyed complete hegemony and control over them, i.e. men, has become frustrated at their loss of control and are lashing out at them. These studies must not be left to academics alone but must translate into effective action and law to bring down the frequent violence and abuse against women.