Shocking! Pakistan reports rape of a woman every two hours

By Team Newsable | First Published Oct 13, 2022, 5:04 PM IST

According to a survey in Pakistan, as many as 21,900 women were reported to have been raped in the country from 2017 to 2021.

Highlighting the unsafe conditions for women in Pakistan, a recent survey has shockingly revealed that a woman is raped in the country every two hours.

The survey, carried out by Pakistani channel SAMAA TV's Investigation Unit (SIU) based on information gathered from the home department and ministry of human rights in the Punjab province, also discovered that while the rape cases of women spiked, the conviction rate remained a dismal 0.2%.

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"Newly collected and compiled data showed that as many as 21,900 women were reported to have been raped in the country from 2017 to 2021. This meant that around 12 women were raped across the country daily, or one woman every two hours," said the survey.

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The surveyors believe these reported cases may only be the tip of the iceberg because women are reluctant to disclose incidents to the police due to societal stigma and worry about retaliatory violence.

According to the data, there were 3,327 documented rape cases in 2017. According to the research, this increased to 4,456 cases in 2018, 4,573 cases in 2019, 4,478 cases in 2020, and 5,169 cases in 2021. 305 rape cases were reported nationwide in 2022, according to the media.

As many as 57 cases were reported in May, June (91), July (86), and August (71). Previously, media reports have said that around 350 rape cases in Punjab were reported from May 2022 to August 2022, but no data was available for the year's first four months.

Up to 1,301 cases of sexual assault against women were tried in 44 Pakistani courts in 2022. The police filed charge sheets in 2,856 cases. But only 4 per cent of the cases went to trial. The research emphasised that the conviction rate for rape cases remained at an appalling 0.2% during this time.

Pakistan was ranked first among the 75 nations having a bias against women in the courts by the United Nations Development Programme in 2020. Pakistan was ranked 145th out of 146 countries in a World Economic Forum report published in July of this year, making it the second-worst nation in terms of gender parity.

Afghanistan was the only country that performed worse than Pakistan. Pakistan (145th) has a population of 107 million women, and in 2022 has closed 56.4 per cent of the gender gap that affects them.

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Since the publication of the WEF report, Pakistan has recorded its highest overall parity level to date. International organisations, such as the United Nations, have also pushed Pakistan to act against the country's increasing number of honour killings.

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan data, 1,957 incidents of honour killings were reported over the past four years, according to a report by The Express Tribune. The average rate of honour killing in women between 15-64 years was found to be 15 per million women per year.

"This may be yet another dubious world distinction we have achieved", the article in the newspaper commented.

(With inputs from PTI)

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