As part of its continuous efforts to highlight the issue of violence against women and its different manifestations in the society, the Aurat Foundation (AF) launched the fourth annual statistics of violence against women and released a report titled ‘Situation of Violence against Women in Pakistan on Monday. Nasreen Azhar, women’s rights activist and former member of National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), presented the findings of the report. She said that the report showed violence against women was continuously increasing.
Anis Haroon, former chairperson, National Commission on the Status of Women, said that current data showed a rise in cases of violence against women. She said that although the violence against women also happened to be even in modern developed countries, in Pakistan this violence was more problematic and cruel as there was no system of addressing the violence against women, neither was there implementation of law.
She also emphasised that for eradicating violence against women, a shift in mindset of the society was needed. She added that the typical mindset did not consider women as able and potential member of the society who played an important role in development and prosperity.
She also criticised the bad side of tribal culture of Khyber Pakhtunkhaw which has little space for women and where women are killed in the name of honour and are given away in dispute settlement. She said that this is the responsibility of the government.
Justice (retd) Majida Rizvi, former chairperson of National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) and the chief guest of the launching ceremony, gave a critical analysis of violence against women in Pakistan. She said that there were many causes behind violence against women, but the root cause was perhaps women’s dependence on men and men’s approach that women were their dependents and hence their property.
She said that although one way of looking into increase in violence against women perhaps is that now cases of violence are now reported as compared to the past. However, she emphasised that the current socio-political and economic situation was also one of the main factors behind violence against women e.g. unemployment etc. She also said most of our laws which enacted in the name of Islam like Hudood Ordinance were enacted during dictatorial regime of General Zia.
