2 foreigner women amongst 3 molested on Goa beach

[W.11]

Annual Report of Pakistani NGO Notes 13 Percent Increase in Violence Against Women

Annual Report of Pakistani NGO Aurat Foundation Notes 13 Percent Increase in Violence Against Women

In a new study on the situation of women in Pakistan, the Aurat Foundation, an Islamabad-based non-governmental organization working for women’s’ welfare, has expressed concern over the growing incidents of violence against Pakistani women.

The annual study for the year 2009 was released in Islamabad on February 1, 2010 by Ms. Rabeea Hadi, a representative of the Aurat Foundation. The study, which is based on statistics compiled by the NGO, noted a 13 percent increase in incidents of violence against women in Pakistan in 2009.

The incidents of violence against Pakistani women include rape, gang-rape, honor killing, acid throwing, suicide, abduction and murder. The full report of the annual study has yet to be published. However, some excerpts from the report were published by the leading Pakistani daily Dawn.

Following are some of the excerpts:[1]

"Of 8,548 Cases of Violence, 5,722 Incidents were Recorded in Punjab, 1,762 in Sindh, 655 in the NWFP, 237 in Baluchistan and 172 in Islamabad" "Cases of violence against women witnessed a 13 percent increase in 2009 from the previous year.

"Rabeea Hadi, a representative of the Aurat Foundation, said that 8,548 incidents of violence against women were reported in the four provinces – Punjab, Sindh, North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Baluchistan, and in Islamabad last year.

"Of the 8,548 cases of violence, 5,722 incidents were recorded in Punjab, 1,762 in Sindh, 655 in the NWFP, 237 in Baluchistan and 172 in Islamabad. The total figure shows a 13 percent increase when compared with 7,571 incidents of violence against women reported in 2008.

"In Islamabad, the 172 incidents included 39 cases of murder, two ‘honor’ killings, 52 abductions/kidnappings and 18 domestic violence [disputes].

"The state, honorable judiciary, free media, the women’s rights and human rights organizations and common citizens must know that 1,384 daughters of Pakistan were murdered, 928 were raped, 683 committed suicide and 604 were killed in the name of ‘honor’ in the year 2009,” Ms. Hadi said while releasing the figures.

"With extreme pain and anguish, we express our outrage and resentment over this state of affairs where women and girls are being murdered, kidnapped and subjected to various forms of violence, including killings in the name of ‘honor’, suicides, acid throwing and stove-burning with shameless impunity while the state functionaries are doing nothing except giving lip-service before TV cameras and that too only in some high-profile cases," she added.

"Having no expectations from the interior ministry or provincial governments, Hadi said she would urge the Ministry of Women’s Development and Women’s Parliamentary Caucus headed by the Speaker of the National Assembly, the lower house of the Pakistani parliament, and the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) [to take action]."

"The Highest Increase in the Number of Reported Cases i.e. From 281 in 2008 to 608 in 2009 was in Domestic Violence" "The number and percent change for cases of abduction and kidnapping in 2009 are – 1,987 (23.25 percent change), murder 1,384 (16.9pc), rape/gang-rape 928 (10.86pc), suicide 683 (7.99pc) and ‘honor’ killing 604 (7.07pc) followed by cases of sexual assault 274 (3.21pc), stove burning 50 (0.58pc), acid throwing 27 (0.60pc) and offences of miscellaneous nature around (23.13pc). Around 1,977 cases of violence were of miscellaneous nature such as vanni/swara [forced marriage of children to end blood feuds], custodial violence, torture, trafficking, child marriage, incest, threat to violence, sexual harassment, attempted murder, suicide and rape.

"The highest increase in the number of reported cases, i.e. from 281 in 2008 to 608 in 2009, was in domestic violence. However, the reported number of murder incidents decreased from 1,422 in 2008 to 1,384 in 2009."

"Of the 5,722 Incidents of Violence in 35 Districts of Punjab, There were 1,698 Cases of Abduction, 752 Cases of Murder, 245 Cases of 'Honor' Killing" "Of the 5,722 incidents of violence in the 35 districts of Punjab, there were 1,698 cases of abduction/kidnapping, 752 cases of murder, 245 cases of ‘honor’ killing, 786 cases of rape/gang rape, 448 cases of suicide, 227 cases of sexual assault, 33 cases of stove burning, 42 cases of acid throwing, and 1,220 cases of miscellaneous nature.

"Of the 1,762 incidents reported from 23 districts of Sindh, 288 were of murder (one of the highest ratios of crime against women reported from the province), 284 incidents of ‘honor’ killing, 160 incidents of abduction/kidnapping, 176 incidents of suicide, 122 incidents of rape/gang rape, 122 incidents of domestic violence, 44 incidents of sexual assault, 10 incidents of stove burning, 9 incidents of acid throwing and 535 incidents of miscellaneous nature.

"Similarly, of the 237 incidents of violence in 28 districts of Baluchistan there were, 59 of ‘honor’ killings, 39 murders, 13 abductions/kidnappings, 4 rapes/gang-rapes, 10 suicides, one stove burning and 22 incidents of miscellaneous nature."

According to another report in the Pakistani daily The News, human rights activist Tahira Abdullah, who is a member of the Violence Against Women Watch Group, an organization that collaborated with the Aurat Foundation for the study, said that the reported incidents of violence are just "the tip of the iceberg" as the extent of violence is much more extensive.

Noting that nearly 85 percent of women experience violence in Pakistan but that society keeps mum on their sufferings, Ms. Abdullah said: "Not many women have the guts to stand up for their rights and seek help from government functionaries."[2]

[1] Dawn, Pakistan, February 2, 2010. The report has been slightly re-written for clarity.

[2] The News, Pakistan, February 3, 2010.

NGOs are nothing, they are nobody to gives statistics on some issue

let me give you an example how the NGOs exploit Pakistan's image by few crime cases

mukhtara mai was allegedly raped, but NGOs didnt tell how her brother rapeda girl and to retaliate the brother of girl raped mukhtara mai

now thanks to NGOs and CNN, mukhtara mai has mercedes benz, land cruiser in her garage who lived in a cottage before her rape, her family has grown so much influencial in her village through NGOs money that they are considered land lords now and running for election

 

[Galaxy]

Pakistan witnesses sharp increase in child abduction cases

Islamabad: Senior journalists and women rights activists chided the media for reporting rape cases like any ordinary crime, at the launching ceremony of a report on the media’s role in sex crimes.

Tasneem Ahmar, director of Uks, Dr Salman Tariq, gender advisor at United Nations, Huma Khawar, senior journalist, Quatrina Hosain, director of current affairs at Express News and Tahira Abdullah, a well known rights activist, were speaking on Monday at the launching ceremony of a report titled ‘How rape is covered by the media in Pakistan’. The report has been compiled by Uks Research Centre, Islamabad in collaboration with the Global Fund for Women.

The document attempts to view how women of Pakistan, who confront rampant injustice in the face of brutal crimes committed against them, are treated by the “omnipresent” eyes of our society- the media. Despite efforts made by rights-based organisations and the tall claims of successive governments, says the report, women continue to face violence on a daily basis. Quoting from a recent Human Rights Watch report, it says that an estimated 90 per cent of women in the country are victims of domestic abuse. Aurat Foundation, however, claims that domestic violence exists in one out of every three households.

Painting a rather bleak picture, the report further states that women are not safe anywhere, including their homes, the streets, their workplaces and even in spaces which have been sworn to offer them protection.”In a patriarchal, male-dominated society like Pakistan, where women are treated as a man’s property, rape has become a form of not just violence against women but also revenge against men,” claims the report.

Speaking on the occasion, Ahmar said cases of rape receive the most sensationalised coverage in the country, where the media often forgets that an ethical code exists and becomes totally blind to any ethical guidelines. In such reports, she said, the spot-light is on the victim while the culprit/s is almost always completely ignored. This gives the impression that the victim herself bears responsibility for the entire episode.

“Such reports create a sense of fear among parents and force them to forbid their daughters from going out, even to school,” she said, adding that, “The effort has been made not to point fingers at the media, or alienate it, but is an attempt to make it a powerful ally in the struggle to ensure zero tolerance against gender-based violence in our society.”

Hosain was of the opinion that rape cases are “politicized” when they are expounded by the country’s media. She asked why the names and other details of rape victims are almost always highlighted in the media and instead of the profiles of the accused.

“Rape is not a crime of sex but a crime of violence, power and abuse,” she said.

Khawar suggested that reporters should be trained for handling such cases and taught appropriate terms. Commenting on notions of honour and their link with violence against women, Abdullah said that the power of feudal lords or tribal chieftains lies in the bodies of “their” females.

 

[senselesstalk]

Woman & Child Abuse in China | Population Research Institute

Woman & Child Abuse in China
By Josephine Guy 2001 (v11, n4) September/October
Honorable Chairman, members of this committee: My investigation in China began on September 27, 2001. With three others — two translators and a photographer — our investigation lasted a total of four days.

During this time, we had the opportunity to interview many women about methods of family planning which are enforced in their county. Some choked back tears as they told of the abuse they suffer as a result of coercive policies of family planning, while others flocked to tell us their stories of coercion.

The interviews we conducted were recorded in notebooks, on audio and videotape, and additional photographic evidence was obtained. The abuses we documented during this investigation are recent, ongoing, rampant, and unrelenting, And they exist in a county where the United Nations Population Fund claims that women are free to determine the timing and spacing of pregnancy.

Too Young

On the first day of our investigation, we interviewed women in a family planning clinic about a mile from the county office of the UNFPA. We interviewed a 19-year-old there who told us she was too young to be pregnant according to the unbending family planning policy. While she was receiving a non-voluntary abortion in an adjacent room, her friends told us that she indeed desired to keep her baby, but she had no choice, since the law forbids it.

At another location not far from there, a woman testified that she became pregnant despite an earlier attempt by family planning officials to forcibly sterilize her. That attempt failed. She became pregnant, and was forcibly sterilized a second time by family planning doctors and officials. Had she refused, she told us on videotape, then family planning crews would have torn her house down.

The “Black” Children

We were told of efforts by many women to hide their pregnancies from government officials, in an attempt to escape forced abortion, so they could give birth to a child they desired. We were told of women having to hide their children, to escape retribution from officials for not having an abortion. We were told of the many so-called “black” children in the region who are born out of accord with local birth regulations. We were told of the punishments inflicted on those who wish to freely determine for themselves the timing and spacing of pregnancy.

We were told of the non-voluntary use of IUDs and mandatory examinations so that officials can ensure that women have not removed IUDs in violation of policy, and the strict punishments which result from non-compliance with this coercive and inhumane policy.

Fines for Babies

One woman we interviewed had heroically escaped forced abortion by hiding in a nearby village. As a result, she testified, three people in her mother’s family, and six people in her mother-in-law’s family were arrested and thrown into prison. They were released after four months imprisonment, only after a crippling fine — of 17,000 RMB, (about $2,000 US), equal to about three years’ wages — was paid to family planning officials. Today this woman must pay another 17,000 RMB before her child can be legally registered and permitted to attend school. And when her relatives were in jail, the Office of Family Planning sent a crew of officials armed with jack-hammers to their homes. They destroyed their homes and belongings with jack — -hammers.

All interviews were conducted within a few miles from a UNFPA office, in a county where UNFPA contends that coercion does not exist. In a county where UNFPA claims that only voluntarism prevails, we were told by a victim of abuse that family planning policies involving coercion and force are stricter today than ever before.

UNFPA’s Assists

Through discrete contact made with local officials, we located the County Government Building. Within this building, we located the Office of Family Planning. And within the Office of Family Planning, we located the UNFPA office. Through local officials, we learned the UNFPA works in and through this Office of Family Planning. We photographed the UNFPA office desk, which faces — in fact touches — a desk of the Chinese Office of Family Planning.

We confirmed that all of the locations of the interviews that were conducted fell within this County and under the governance of the County bureaucracy housed in the County Government Building.

Prior to my arrival in China, advance research had been done regarding family planning policies and operations in other regions. Preparations had been made for investigating these regions. But due to the information already obtained, and mindful of potential risks and dangers, it was decided that I should return home.

Honorable Chairman and members of this committee: in this county where UNFPA operates — where UNFPA insists that only voluntarism exists — we were told by victims of coercion themselves that there is, in fact, no trace of voluntarism in this county. There is only coercion, in abundant supply, in this county where UNFPA operates — from within the Office of Family Planning. Mr. Chairman: Thank you and God bless.

Josephine Guy is the Director of Government Affairs for America 21.

 

[W.11]

Pakistan witnesses sharp increase in child abduction cases

Islamabad: Senior journalists and women rights activists chided the media for reporting rape cases like any ordinary crime, at the launching ceremony of a report on the media’s role in sex crimes.

Tasneem Ahmar, director of Uks, Dr Salman Tariq, gender advisor at United Nations, Huma Khawar, senior journalist, Quatrina Hosain, director of current affairs at Express News and Tahira Abdullah, a well known rights activist, were speaking on Monday at the launching ceremony of a report titled ‘How rape is covered by the media in Pakistan’. The report has been compiled by Uks Research Centre, Islamabad in collaboration with the Global Fund for Women.

The document attempts to view how women of Pakistan, who confront rampant injustice in the face of brutal crimes committed against them, are treated by the “omnipresent” eyes of our society- the media. Despite efforts made by rights-based organisations and the tall claims of successive governments, says the report, women continue to face violence on a daily basis. Quoting from a recent Human Rights Watch report, it says that an estimated 90 per cent of women in the country are victims of domestic abuse. Aurat Foundation, however, claims that domestic violence exists in one out of every three households.

Painting a rather bleak picture, the report further states that women are not safe anywhere, including their homes, the streets, their workplaces and even in spaces which have been sworn to offer them protection.”In a patriarchal, male-dominated society like Pakistan, where women are treated as a man’s property, rape has become a form of not just violence against women but also revenge against men,” claims the report.

Speaking on the occasion, Ahmar said cases of rape receive the most sensationalised coverage in the country, where the media often forgets that an ethical code exists and becomes totally blind to any ethical guidelines. In such reports, she said, the spot-light is on the victim while the culprit/s is almost always completely ignored. This gives the impression that the victim herself bears responsibility for the entire episode.

“Such reports create a sense of fear among parents and force them to forbid their daughters from going out, even to school,” she said, adding that, “The effort has been made not to point fingers at the media, or alienate it, but is an attempt to make it a powerful ally in the struggle to ensure zero tolerance against gender-based violence in our society.”

Hosain was of the opinion that rape cases are “politicized” when they are expounded by the country’s media. She asked why the names and other details of rape victims are almost always highlighted in the media and instead of the profiles of the accused.

“Rape is not a crime of sex but a crime of violence, power and abuse,” she said.

Khawar suggested that reporters should be trained for handling such cases and taught appropriate terms. Commenting on notions of honour and their link with violence against women, Abdullah said that the power of feudal lords or tribal chieftains lies in the bodies of “their” females.

abuse is not sexual abuse, you are mixing those two diff terms

 

[senselesstalk]

In China, Crime Is Kept Quiet, Except on TV - WSJ.com

In China, Crime Is Kept Quiet, Except on TV
The country remains safe by Western standards, but crime is more common and data are scarce

By JAMES T. AREDDY

Last June, hours after her students went home, Sunny Shi, the principal at a kindergarten in Shanghai's Pudong district, was bludgeoned to death in her office. The suspect was another school employee.

Officially, it was as if the murder never happened. Not a word was reported publicly by Shanghai police or local media. As talk circulated among parents, the school's administrators offered trauma counseling but requested their silence. "Now the case is under police investigation," the chief administrator said by email, and "we regret that we cannot provide any details."

View Full Image

Wang yuheng - Imaginechina
POLICE CARRY away a kidnapping suspect in Kunming, China, on May 26.

More

Hard Times, Fewer Crimes
The treatment of this case was not unusual. All across China, authorities are thought to hush up episodes like Ms. Shi's killing, which explains in large part why no one knows how much crime occurs in the world's most populous nation. But few doubt that crime is increasing as economic growth divides rich from poor and China permits more personal mobility.

"In the era of Mao, China was known as a virtually crime-free society," says Steven F. Messner, a University of Albany sociology professor who studies criminality. "To get rich is glorious" is the philosophy today, he added, "but there would be a darker side in terms of crime."

China's national crime statistics show a sharp escalation in cases over the past decade, led in particular by non-violent larceny, like bicycle theft and purse snatching. But, as in the U.S., the official numbers also point to steep declines in violent crime, with the murder rate dropping by half between 2000 and 2009.

Experts consider China's crime statistics both problematic and politicized. They also generally agree that the country remains safe by Western standards. Dark streets don't imply danger here.

Evidence abounds, however, that the Communist Party leadership's ideal of a "harmonious society" remains a target, not the reality. In China's growing cities, aluminum bars over windows and doors make most apartments resemble jails. Homeowners are snapping up security devices like cameras and alarms.

Anxious about kidnapping, China's newly wealthy often drive bullet-proof Land Rovers and hire kung fu masters from Shaolin Temple as security agents.

Television contributes a fear factor with real-crime shows modeled on "America's Most Wanted" and "Cops." China Central Television says its law-and-order channel grabs more viewers than its sports stations. Every day, CCTV's one-hour documentary "Legal Report" follows detectives as they crack sensational abduction, extortion and robbery cases.

Its coverage of a spate of apparently random attacks on seven women this year in Hebei province, for instance, featured the nighttime capture of 23-year-old Zhang Yunshuai. His foldable knife decorated with a butterfly was shown as evidence. He was led to a subsequent interview wearing a reflective orange prison vest and cuffed at the wrists and ankles, where he tilted his shaved head and muttered, "because women break my heart."

Shorter installments drew on security cameras that captured a thief shielding his pilfering hand beneath a menu in a crowded Beijing restaurant and thugs casing hotel lobbies for handbags.

On these true-life crime shows, "the man" consistently finds his perp. A popular notion holds that the censors permit these shows about China's criminal underworld because they allow the leadership to demonstrate how the pervasive surveillance of the government equates to swift justice.

Canadian Debra O'Brien got an up-close look at China's criminal justice system after her 22-year-old daughter Diana was stabbed to death three years ago in Shanghai, a bombshell case just weeks before the start of the 2008 Olympics. Authorities quickly won a confession from Chen Jun, a penniless 18-year-old migrant from rural Anhui province. Mr. Chen admitted he struggled with the aspiring model during his bungled attempt to burgle her apartment, located steps from a tea shop that recently fired him.

Ms. O'Brien left impressed. She received extensive briefings by senior police and personal copies of forensic photos. The judge even sought her opinion about a death sentence for Mr. Chen. She had a face-to-face with the apologetic killer.

"It was all shocking and horrific, but everything was done really respectfully and transparently," Ms. O'Brien said by telephone. "You don't feel there is a lot of ego going on. People are doing their jobs."

But the public wasn't offered many details. Ms. O'Brien herself admits she isn't sure of what happened to Mr. Chen but believes he became eligible for release two months ago. Mr. Chen's lawyer says he is serving life.

Pi Yijun, a professor of criminal justice at China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, says that he sees crime rising and getting more violent, which he attributes to anger and frustration among society's have-nots. "The accepted mindset seems, 'fists are more powerful than reason,'" he said.

But in a rare 2004 survey of crime victimization, centered on the northern city Tianjin, the University of Albany's Mr. Messner found that few people were touched personally by crimes worse than a stolen bicycle. He credits traditional features of Chinese society. "You still have a much more communitarian orientation than the extreme individualism you see in the U.S.," he said.

—Bai Lin and Yang Jie contributed to this article.
Write to James T. Areddy at james.areddy@wsj.com

 

[fallstuff]

 

[Brotherhood]

BBC News | South Asia | Pakistan's wall of silence on child abuse
UNICEF - Pakistan - School that stops child abuse in Pakistan
Sahil
IRIN Asia | PAKISTAN: Child sexual assaults unacceptable - NGO | Pakistan | Children | Conflict | Health & Nutrition
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

want more ....

Tourists Beware - India, a Major Rape Destination

We have always said that Indians are the most hypocritical swines on the planet bar none.

Who else can be more bigger hypocritical swines then chinese. I think if CCP confirms then only you will accept it seems, but the world know well what a swine hypocrite society you are.....

Calm down dude, take a deep breath, first of all, i didn't wrote the article, NO? secondly no matter how much personal attack you unleashed won't change the "FACT" that rape is common in India. Wow, did you see the statistic of "734%" increase in rape from 1971-2007 in India?

Also i really doubt you should even want to troll off-topic relating child sexual abuse, India also rank no 1 in the world.
Asia Sentinel - Hidden Darkness: Child Sexual Abuse in India

 

[senselesstalk]

China's abuse: forced abortion and forced labor

May 19, 2011. (Romereports.com) He was tortured and forced into labor for 19 years. Now, Harry Wu, spends his time, trying to fight the system that enslaved him for nearly two decades.


Harry Wu
Founder Laogai Foundation
“Living like an animal. If I don't work, they would remove my food.”

They're called Laogai prisons or forced labor camps. Speaking out against the Chinese government is enough to be imprisoned for life. When he was just 19, Wu was labeled a counter revolutionary. During a recent visit to Rome, with the Laogai Foundation, he spoke about the days he spent in solitary confinement.

Harry Wu
Founder Laogai Foundation
“Six feet long, three feet wide and only three feet high made of cement. So I was inside, no blanket, no food, no water. You have to give a confession. After three days, if you don't do it, they can't let you go.”

Wu survived and later moved to Washington. But he says, it's a problem that still goes on today, with roughly one thousand Laogai prisons scattered throughout China.

Harry Wu
Founder Laogai Foudnation
“There are three to five million people as a labor force to make a product, that benefits the government.”

He says products, like auto parts, hand tools and even some Christmas lights are made by prisoners. Despite international laws, that prohibit the sale of goods made through forced labor, Wu says plenty of them are sold in the U.S.
Another concern, is freedom of religion, since Catholics are often targeted.

Harry Wu
Founder Laogai Foundation
“All Churches, all temples are government property. All priests, pastors are sent to labor camps.”

For years, Reggie Littlejohn has denounced the government, saying the abuse goes far beyond prison walls. China's one child law, has led to hundreds of thousands of forced abortions.

Reggie Littlejohn
President Women's Rights Without Frontiers
“China's one child policy is enforced through forced abortion, forced sterilization and infanticide.”

She says if women don't register their pregnancy with the Chinese government, they could be subject to a violent abortion, regardless of their pregnancy term.

Reggie Littlejohn
President Women's Rights Without Frontiers
“If you want to have a second child, you can simply pay a fine. What they don't tell the tourist is that that fine can be up to ten times your annual salary.”

Every day, roughly 500 women commit suicide in China. Littlejohn believes it's directly connected to the country's strict family planning laws.
Having significantly more men than women is provoking other problems.

Reggie Littlejohn
President Women's Rights Without Frontiers
“Because of the gender imbalance in China, and the presence of 37 million more men than women. Women and girls are trafficked into China from surrounding countries.”

The fight against these abuses has been going on for years. Until they see changes, these activists say, the fight will continue.

 

[Galaxy]

abuse is not sexual abuse, you are mixing those two diff terms

Not Mixing, Read How Media reports in Pakistan. 90% such cases doesn't even see light of the day.

 

[W.11]

 

[senselesstalk]

Global Human Traffiking Watch: PAKISTAN: Women’s secret drug-taking hurting families

LAHORE, 23 May 2011 (IRIN) - Late each night, Rizwana Bibi* opens the metal box she keeps under her bed to check on her stash of drugs and pops a pill so she can catch some sleep.

“I began soon after I was married, because I was so unhappy,” she said. “My husband is violent. I keep the drug use a secret from him and our three children, though my nine-year-old son sometimes goes to the pharmacy to buy the `medicines’ I ask him to get.

“I tell him they are to help my headaches,” Rizwana told IRIN in Lahore, Pakistan’s second largest city and capital of Punjab Province.

The 30-year-old mother has been using benzodiazepines (a class of compounds used as tranquillizers) and narcotics for the last 10 years. Like her, thousands of married Pakistanis of reproductive age are addicted to drugs, a problem that has taken a serious toll on families, according to Uzma Ahmed, a health visitor who offers advice to women in a community on the outskirts of Lahore.

“There are women I know who use drugs,” Ahmed said. “Often they are terrified their husbands will beat them if they find out. The drug use has a highly negative impact on families, especially the children who sometimes see their mothers smoke, or swallow pills and fall asleep for hours. Some want to give up, but where do they go for help?”

A study by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) of 4,632 female drug users in 13 cities in Pakistan’s four provinces in 2010 found that drug use among women was discreet, hidden and more of an individual activity than among male users. While the number of users was fairly large in cosmopolitan cities like Karachi and Lahore, it also existed in other areas of the country.

The study found that nearly three-quarters of users were aged 21-40, and were illiterate. However, in Peshawar city, nearly half of the users had some education. Overall, more than half were married and mostly lived with their husbands. Most used hashish, but some used hard addictive drugs including synthetics that were available over the counter.

Low self-esteem

“Many female drug users suffer from low self-esteem, loneliness, depression, a sense of isolation and often feel powerless,” the study found. “In an attempt to minimize the stigma, [they] do not seek assistance, and do not utilize services available for them which further complicate the situation.”

Pakistan’s drug problem is documented. In 2006, an assessment by the government found about 628,000 opiate users in the country, of whom around 482,000 (77 percent) were heroin users. The assessment report estimated the number of injecting drug users at about 125,000, double the estimate for 2000.

In March, a joint UNODC and World Health Organization (WHO) mission to Pakistan said improved drug treatment programmes were needed given the scale of the problem. Such programmes, it noted, were often a “low priority on the political agenda” in many countries with a drug problem.

Locals in Lahore said treatment for addiction was hard to come by. “My son, Bilal, 25, is addicted to heroin,” Imdad Asad, 60, said. “We have paid out over Rs. 500,000 [US$5,882] over the last year at various `treatment’ clinics, but he just reverts to the habit after leaving them. These centres are just out to make profits by fleecing desperate families.”

Easy to buy

At the same time, drugs were relatively easy to buy. “I have regular customers, both men and women, who come in to buy injectible narcotics or other drugs like `xanax’ [a benzodiazepine]. I know I should not be selling these without prescription - but then they will just go to another shop,” a pharmacist in Lahore who preferred anonymity told IRIN.

A user, Samina Bibi* 22, said: “It is not hard at all to obtain drugs. I use some blue pills to help me sleep. I do not know what they are. I also smoke hash. A drug dealer who lives close to my house comes and supplies them at my doorstep.”

Treatment is harder for female users because of stigma and the covert nature of use, according to UNODC. While male users are easily seen in public places, women users tend to be hidden far more deeply in the shadows of society.

“Any effective treatment plan for drug addiction can work only if there is effective control on the sale of prescription drugs,” Khalid Bukhari, WHO country adviser on medicine, said. “Right now, psychotropic drugs, narcotics and other substances can be bought freely.

“We need a triple prescription system, where one copy is kept by the doctor, one given to the pharmacy and one to the patient.”

 

[W.11]

 

[53fd]

Annual Report of Pakistani NGO Notes 13 Percent Increase in Violence Against Women

Annual Report of Pakistani NGO Aurat Foundation Notes 13 Percent Increase in Violence Against Women

In a new study on the situation of women in Pakistan, the Aurat Foundation, an Islamabad-based non-governmental organization working for women’s’ welfare, has expressed concern over the growing incidents of violence against Pakistani women.

The annual study for the year 2009 was released in Islamabad on February 1, 2010 by Ms. Rabeea Hadi, a representative of the Aurat Foundation. The study, which is based on statistics compiled by the NGO, noted a 13 percent increase in incidents of violence against women in Pakistan in 2009.

The incidents of violence against Pakistani women include rape, gang-rape, honor killing, acid throwing, suicide, abduction and murder. The full report of the annual study has yet to be published. However, some excerpts from the report were published by the leading Pakistani daily Dawn.

Following are some of the excerpts:[1]

"Of 8,548 Cases of Violence, 5,722 Incidents were Recorded in Punjab, 1,762 in Sindh, 655 in the NWFP, 237 in Baluchistan and 172 in Islamabad" "Cases of violence against women witnessed a 13 percent increase in 2009 from the previous year.

"Rabeea Hadi, a representative of the Aurat Foundation, said that 8,548 incidents of violence against women were reported in the four provinces – Punjab, Sindh, North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Baluchistan, and in Islamabad last year.

"Of the 8,548 cases of violence, 5,722 incidents were recorded in Punjab, 1,762 in Sindh, 655 in the NWFP, 237 in Baluchistan and 172 in Islamabad. The total figure shows a 13 percent increase when compared with 7,571 incidents of violence against women reported in 2008.

"In Islamabad, the 172 incidents included 39 cases of murder, two ‘honor’ killings, 52 abductions/kidnappings and 18 domestic violence [disputes].

"The state, honorable judiciary, free media, the women’s rights and human rights organizations and common citizens must know that 1,384 daughters of Pakistan were murdered, 928 were raped, 683 committed suicide and 604 were killed in the name of ‘honor’ in the year 2009,” Ms. Hadi said while releasing the figures.

"With extreme pain and anguish, we express our outrage and resentment over this state of affairs where women and girls are being murdered, kidnapped and subjected to various forms of violence, including killings in the name of ‘honor’, suicides, acid throwing and stove-burning with shameless impunity while the state functionaries are doing nothing except giving lip-service before TV cameras and that too only in some high-profile cases," she added.

"Having no expectations from the interior ministry or provincial governments, Hadi said she would urge the Ministry of Women’s Development and Women’s Parliamentary Caucus headed by the Speaker of the National Assembly, the lower house of the Pakistani parliament, and the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) [to take action]."

"The Highest Increase in the Number of Reported Cases i.e. From 281 in 2008 to 608 in 2009 was in Domestic Violence" "The number and percent change for cases of abduction and kidnapping in 2009 are – 1,987 (23.25 percent change), murder 1,384 (16.9pc), rape/gang-rape 928 (10.86pc), suicide 683 (7.99pc) and ‘honor’ killing 604 (7.07pc) followed by cases of sexual assault 274 (3.21pc), stove burning 50 (0.58pc), acid throwing 27 (0.60pc) and offences of miscellaneous nature around (23.13pc). Around 1,977 cases of violence were of miscellaneous nature such as vanni/swara [forced marriage of children to end blood feuds], custodial violence, torture, trafficking, child marriage, incest, threat to violence, sexual harassment, attempted murder, suicide and rape.

"The highest increase in the number of reported cases, i.e. from 281 in 2008 to 608 in 2009, was in domestic violence. However, the reported number of murder incidents decreased from 1,422 in 2008 to 1,384 in 2009."

"Of the 5,722 Incidents of Violence in 35 Districts of Punjab, There were 1,698 Cases of Abduction, 752 Cases of Murder, 245 Cases of 'Honor' Killing" "Of the 5,722 incidents of violence in the 35 districts of Punjab, there were 1,698 cases of abduction/kidnapping, 752 cases of murder, 245 cases of ‘honor’ killing, 786 cases of rape/gang rape, 448 cases of suicide, 227 cases of sexual assault, 33 cases of stove burning, 42 cases of acid throwing, and 1,220 cases of miscellaneous nature.

"Of the 1,762 incidents reported from 23 districts of Sindh, 288 were of murder (one of the highest ratios of crime against women reported from the province), 284 incidents of ‘honor’ killing, 160 incidents of abduction/kidnapping, 176 incidents of suicide, 122 incidents of rape/gang rape, 122 incidents of domestic violence, 44 incidents of sexual assault, 10 incidents of stove burning, 9 incidents of acid throwing and 535 incidents of miscellaneous nature.

"Similarly, of the 237 incidents of violence in 28 districts of Baluchistan there were, 59 of ‘honor’ killings, 39 murders, 13 abductions/kidnappings, 4 rapes/gang-rapes, 10 suicides, one stove burning and 22 incidents of miscellaneous nature."

According to another report in the Pakistani daily The News, human rights activist Tahira Abdullah, who is a member of the Violence Against Women Watch Group, an organization that collaborated with the Aurat Foundation for the study, said that the reported incidents of violence are just "the tip of the iceberg" as the extent of violence is much more extensive.

Noting that nearly 85 percent of women experience violence in Pakistan but that society keeps mum on their sufferings, Ms. Abdullah said: "Not many women have the guts to stand up for their rights and seek help from government functionaries."[2]

[1] Dawn, Pakistan, February 2, 2010. The report has been slightly re-written for clarity.

[2] The News, Pakistan, February 3, 2010.

As you can see, cases of violence includes rape, gang-rape, honor killing, acid throwing, suicide, abduction and murder. And there were 8,548 Cases of Violence in the whole year all over Pakistan. 7000 women get killed every year in India for not generating enough dowry. There are about 5000 honor killing cases in India every year as well, as well as much higher statistics of suicides etc.

 

[senselesstalk]

Domestic Violence in Relationships » Blog Archive » Afraid and alone: Violence against women in Pakistan

Visit: DFID - UK Department for International Development to find out more about how the UK government is helping tackle gender violence in Pakistan. According to the United Nations, 1 in 3 women globally has suffered from gender violence. “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence” is an UN awareness raising campaign which runs each year from 25 November (International Day Against Violence Against Women) up to 10 December (International Human Rights Day). The issue is particularly acute in Pakistan where over 4500 women were victims of violence in the first half of 2009 alone. Yet this figure only hints at the full picture of physical abuse in the country. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimates that a woman is raped every two hours, a gang rape occurs every eight hours, and about 1000 women die annually in honour killings.

 

[Galaxy]

How common is Rape in Pakistan