Women look for 'solutions' amid rise in domestic violence in Pakistan

Islamabad [Pakistan], April 7 : Similar to the situation of minorities in Pakistan, the women of the country face discrimination and mistreatment. Due to the rise in domestic violence cases in the country, many have now called for 'solutions'.

In an opinion piece for News International, columnist Eman Omar said the police have made it plain that combating gender-based crimes is not their top priority by shifting their attention to quelling protests that break out in support of politicians who frequently flout the law.

The police's refusal to register FIRs in domestic violence cases highlights the fact that women in Pakistan are now hesitant to bring cases of abuse and violence to the fore.

Women who are strong enough to call the police are turned away and told to make amends with their abusers, the author wrote in his opinion for News International.

"They are informed that the event is a "personal matter" and that "beating" is an inevitable aspect of marriage," the columnist added.

In a policy brief on domestic violence that was released on March 7, 2023, by the National Commission on Human Rights of Pakistan (NCHR) and UN Women, it was found that 90 per cent of Pakist women reported experiencing domestic abuse at some point in their lives, The News International reported.

The NCHR brief also underlined that domestic violence greatly increased during the Covid-19 lockdowns, deteriorating the situation of the women in the country.

Pakistan ranked141st out of 156 nations in the Global Gender Gap Index in 2022.

The six-year wait for Punjab's domestic violence statute to be announced serves as a reminder of the state's shoddy approach to providing safety to vulnerable groups.

Divorced, widowed, and separated women in Pakistan have suffered more violence than married women. The violence is not confined to matrimonial relationships.

According to the last Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) for Pakistan, 39 per cent of women aged 15-49, who had never been married, reported being subjected to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) at some time. Only in 2021, 14,189 cases of gender-based violence were registered in Pakistan, Pakistan based The News International reported.

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