December 29, 2012

Confronting gender crimes

By: REHAN YOUSAF

Pakistan and the subcontinent in general, are very unfortunate places to be a woman in. The recent case of a gang rape of a young girl on a bus in New Delhi has made the world stand up and take note of the deteriorating situation of female affairs in this part of the globe. Indians have shown a forward thinking fervour with mass protests taking place on the streets and with authorities proposing that the faces of the rapists be put up online so that “shame” follows them everywhere.

There have even been calls of some serious rape crimes being followed by the death penalty for the rapists. This is all appreciated and it is hoped that this sort of action be taken soon.

In Pakistan, we have yet to ostracise rapists in this way. A recent media story from the district of Chakwal tells of a man charged with sraping his daughter-in-law. Every day, in Pakistan, we hear of such stories but we never really hear of any solid measures taken to put such gender criminals away. It is time Pakistan takes some serious action against rapists no matter who they are.

Daily Times

December 29, 2012

Woman strangled by husband

Karachi: It was the screaming of Ume Kalsoom’s children that made her neighbours rush to her Madina Colony residence in the Orangi Town on Friday. The mother of two children had been killed in cold blood by her husband.

After spotting the strangled woman, the neighbours informed the police, who shifted the body to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for a post-mortem. An MLO said the body bore some torture marks.

Mominabad police said the woman was killed by her husband over some personal dispute. The husband is still at large.

The News

December 29, 2012

Malala named ‘Young Person of the Year’ by The Times

LONDON: The Pakistani teenage activist Malala Yousufzai who was shot in the head by the Taliban has been named The Times “Young Person of the Year” for her heroism “not only beyond her years but almost beyond belief”.

Malala is currently being treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham for the wounds caused after Taliban attacked her in her village near Swat. She shot to fame in 2009 when she became an eloquent advocate of education for girls and opposed Taliban for imposing restrictions on girls’ education.

Ziauddin Yousufzai, Malala’s father, welcomed the decision of the influential newspaper but said that the accolade belongs to every Pakistani child who wants to learn education and better their lives. Ziauddin told The News in a conversation over phone from Birmingham: “All the awards that have been given to Malala belong to Pakistani students who are determined to get education and to make Pakistan a democratic and educated country.

Malala fought for them all and all of them are part of the struggle for rights of their fellow citizens. All of them deserve tribute and encouragement as well as practical support of the world to have educational opportunities.”

The Times said in a leading article that it had decided to make her “Young Person of the Year” because unlike her assailants she has no weapons but words. It said that Malala decided to stand up when Taliban had already killed hundreds of people, instituted public executions, battled Pakistan army, bombed and burnt girls’ schools and destroyed around 150 educational institutions in 2008 alone.

Their aim, said The Times, was to “enslave women not only by confining them physically to the home but also by closing to them the life of the mind”.

As the Taliban retreated, the young girl became a focus for women emancipation through the power of learning and became a rallying figure for every Pakistani who cares for democracy and rights of Pakistani citizens. It is precisely for her strong vocal opposition to the Taliban atrocities that she was targeted by the extremists.

Malala reported these atrocities through her anonymous blog for the BBC. “She embodied the spirit of resistance to violence and obscurantism.” The Times said that when fired upon, Malala survived by extraordinary chance and inspired international revulsion. “She has won much acclaim for her stand and her cause – but, even so, not enough. She is not only an exponent of the vital cause of female education and an exemplar of personal heroism but also represents the values of the enlightenment as it contends with barbarism. For insisting on the right of girls to learn and to better themselves, Malala demonstrates more than simple goodwill. She stands for the power of an idea, of the resilience of the human spirit against totalitarianism.”

The paper said that Malala expects no heroics from anyone else as only last week she asked the government of Pakistan to rescind a decision to name a school after her, when its pupils protested that they would themselves become targets for the Taliban. “But the least that she is entitled to, and can reasonably expect, is solidarity as well as admiration.”

The paper said that this shows Malala insisting on dealing with reality however depressing rather than the specious symbolism preferred by so many who seek to use her name.

The News

December 29, 2012

Police reluctant to name suspects in girl’s murder

By: Ikram Junaidi

ISLAMABAD: Ramna police station registered a case of murder (under section 302), in the case of the 22-year-old girl, who died after falling from a building, in sector G-11/4, on Thursday night, but the name of suspects were not mentioned in the First Information Report (FIR).

“No suspects are being mentioned in this case because police were the complainant and no family member of the girl has come forward to file a complaint,” said a police official not wanting to be named.

When a family member is a complainant, he or she, usually mentions the name of a suspect. The police have nominated a sub inspector as the complainant. “The danger is that when the police are the complainant, there is always a chance that the case might not be pursued seriously or suspects might never get named,” said the police official. Nevertheless the police are presently pursuing the case and are collecting information on the girl.

Phone numbers of many prominent personalities were found on the cell phone of the deceased girl, which could offer clues. However, the owner of the building could not be traced as he was not responding to calls on his cell phone, Dawn has learnt.

According to police officials, on Thursday morning, the police were informed about the incident. The Police then shifted the body of the girl from a private hospital to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) for autopsy as the private hospital had refused to perform the autopsy.

A witness had informed the police that the girl had fallen from the PHA Flats, in G-11/4 and residents of the flats said that the girl belonged to Lakki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a local businessman, allegedly, used to visit the flat. Medico legal officer at Pims, Dr Nasreen Butt conducted an external autopsy on the girl and it was learnt that both ankles and back bone of the girl were broken.

However, the doctor said that she suspected that the girl had been intoxicated and had sent her hair samples to the laboratory for testing. A senior officer of the federal police requesting not to be identified said that because of witnesses and other evidences collected by the police, it is suspected that the girl was murdered.

“In that sort of cases two factors are considered important, one is the agreement contract of the flat and telephonic conversations, which can be helpful in finding the suspect,” he said.

“Police had learnt that there were two men and woman present along with the deceased at the time of her death and they allegedly shifted her to a private hospital. The woman (accompanying the deceased) had also recorded her statement but still the suspects were not nominated in FIR,” he said.

When contacted, Station House Officer (SHO) Inspector Baqir said: “We are trying to trace the owner of the building to find out to whom the flat was leased to but the owner’s cell number is not responding. I will be able to confirm the name of the suspect within 24 hours,” he said.

Dawn