Wednesday, April 7, 2021
Outrage after Pakistan’s Imran Khan links rape to how women dress
Khan faces backlash for saying the increase in rapes indicated ‘consequences in any society where vulgarity is on the rise’.
Pakistani women activists and rights campaigners have accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of “baffling ignorance” after the cricketer-turned-politician blamed how women dress for a rise in rape cases.
In a weekend interview on live television, Oxford-educated Khan said an increase in rapes indicated the “consequences in any society where vulgarity is on the rise”.
“The incidents of rape of women … [have] actually very rapidly increased in society,” he said.
He advised women to cover up to prevent temptation.
“This entire concept of purdah is to avoid temptation, not everyone has the willpower to avoid it,” he said, using a term that can refer to modest dress or the segregation of the sexes.
Hundreds have signed a statement circulating online on Wednesday, calling Khan’s comments “factually incorrect, insensitive and dangerous”.
“Fault rests solely with the rapist and the system that enables the rapist, including a culture fostered by statements such as those made by [Khan],” the statement said.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent rights watchdog, on Tuesday said it was “appalled” by the comments.
“Not only does this betray a baffling ignorance of where, why and how rape occurs, but it also lays the blame on rape survivors, who, as the government must know, can range from young children to victims of honour crimes,” it said.
Pakistan is a deeply conservative country where victims of sexual abuse are often viewed with suspicion and criminal complaints are rarely investigated seriously.
Much of the country lives under an “honour” code where women who bring “shame” on the family can be subjected to violence or murder.
It regularly ranks among the worst places in the world for gender equality.
Nationwide protests erupted last year when a police chief admonished a gang-rape victim for driving at night without a male companion. The Franco-Pakistani mother was assaulted in front of her children on the side of a motorway after her car ran out of fuel.
Last year, Khan was criticised after another television appearance where he failed to challenge a Muslim leader’s insistence that coronavirus had been unleashed because of the wrongdoings of women.The latest controversy comes as the organisers of International Women’s Day marches battle what they have called a coordinated disinformation campaign against them, including doctored images and videos circulated online.
It has led to blasphemy accusations – a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan where allegations have previously led mobs to attack people.
The organisers of the annual rally have called for the prime minister to intervene.
In his weekend TV appearance, Khan also blamed divorce rates in Britain on the “sex, drugs and rock and roll” culture that began in the 1970s, when the twice-divorced Khan was gaining a reputation in London as a “playboy”.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/7/outrage-after-pakistans-imran-khan-links-rape-to-how-women-dress
#Pakistan - #PPP - Rise in extremist attitudes in Sindh will not be tolerated: Bilawal Bhutto
PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari meets a group of Sindh's prominent writers, human rights representatives, intellectuals and academics.
Delegation requests PPP chairperson that the cyber crime cell under the federal government be contacted to contain and curb extremist statements on social media.Bilawal assures group that Ministry of Religious Affairs in Sindh will play an active role in "promoting process of healthy dialogue between the Ulema and other intellectuals".
KARACHI:
PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari says a rise in extremist attitudes in the country, and especially in Sindh, will not be tolerated and no individual or group will be allowed to take the law into their own hands.
He was speaking to a delegation of Sindh intellectuals, human rights representatives, journalists, writers, social leaders and academics who called on him and briefed him on the growing extremism in Sindh.
Expressing concern over the intolerance and incitement being spread against writer and columnist Amar Jalil, the delegation drew attention to the reaction to an old allegorical fiction of the well-known writer and expressed concern over the threats to him and other issues being faced by progressive writers, poets and intellectuals in Sindh.
The delegation included Noorul Huda Shah, Jami Chandio, Amar Sindhu, Dr Ayub Sheikh, Dr Irfana Mallah, Rafiq Chandio, Nazir Leghari, Fazil Jamili, Dr Jaffar Ahmed, Anees Haroon, Ahmed Shah, Zakia Ijaz and Imdad Chandio.
The meeting was also attended by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Culture Minister Sardar Shah.
PPP Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman, Central Secretary Information and MNA Shazia Marri and Political Secretary to PPP Chairperson Jamil Soomro were also present.
The delegation requested the PPP chairperson that the cyber crime cell under the federal government be contacted to contain and curb extremist statements on social media.
They asked the PPP to play its "positive role" in this regard.
Bilawal said that the process of dialogue with the administrative bodies of different sects will be promoted and the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Sindh will play an active role in "promoting the process of healthy dialogue between the Ulema and other intellectuals".
He said that Sindh is a land of religious tolerance and Sufi traditions as the message of peace from Sindh spreads all over the world.
The real identity of Sindh, he said, is the tolerance of society and hence, it should be maintained under all circumstances.
https://www.geo.tv/latest/343872-rise-in-extremist-attitudes-in-sindh-will-not-be-tolerated-bilawal-bhutto
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