Voice of Gender News From Pakistan
GUJRANWALA: A man was stoned to death by wife over domestic disputes here on Monday.
Police said that a woman disgruntled over domestic disputes and torture of husband attacked with bricks and killed him in Ibrahim Town Baghbanpura Police Station jurisdiction in Gujranwala.
The body was shifted to hospital for postmortem. The police arrested the murderer woman and after registering a case against him started the investigation
Karachi
The roles of men and women, as set out by society over the ages have been the subject of controversy for as long as one could remember. While these roles have been called into question, society still adheres to them.
Exactly such a play was performed at the National Academy of Performing Arts this past Saturday evening. ‘A Doll’s House’ by Henrik Ibsen questions the roles of men and women within the bond of marriage in the 19th century.
Marriage was supposed to be a sacred, divinely ordained covenant and viewing it from the vantage point that Ibsen did was considered scandalous.
Ibsen was of the view that in modern society, a woman could not be herself as it was a totally male-dominated, male-chauvinist society, with laws framed by men, with the men as judges and prosecutors who interpreted feminine conduct from a masculine standpoint.
The play tells us that questioning of gender roles is nothing new as Ibsen wrote this play in the 1870s.
The play has been translated and adapted by noted theatre personality, Shoaib Hashmi, who has transposed the characters on the Karachi locale.
The production also explores a new technique whereby each character is performed by up to three actors on-stage simultaneously.
Many who belong to the orthodox school of theatre may not approve of it, or more than that, may not even be able to make head or tail of it. As such, in the final scene, we see five actors performing as Nora and five as her husband Trovald, changed to Ayesha and Asad in the Karachi locale.
While it may not make sense to many, the technique is a way of exploring the universality of issues and the different nuances presented by different actors. It is an innovation, indeed.
The choral portion of the play was expressive of real singing talent.
All the stars did a magnificent job and the one who stood out even among them was Erum Bashir as Ayesha. She performed her role in the most profound and effective of manner. The play was a musical and all the stars displayed real vocal talent with instrumental accompaniment by Sharjeel (guitar) and Jehangir (bass).
The play received its world premiere on December 21, 1879, when it was performed at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen. In 2006, the centennial year of Ibsen’s death, the play held the distinction of being the world’s most performed play during that year.
PESHAWAR: The police arrested a couple that had sold their newborn daughter to a gang that was involved in kidnapping and then selling newborn babies.
The couple was arrested during a raid conducted by the police in Pabbi, Nowshera on Sunday evening.
The man identified as Imtiaz and his wife Farhat Bibi sold the child to Wajeeha Yasmin for Rs94,000.
“A few days ago we arrested a gang of kidnappers which was engaged in kidnapping newborn babies from maternity homes and hospitals and then selling them to people who do not have children,” Cantt SP Kashif Zulfiqar told The Express Tribune. “We had rescued a baby which was being sold for Rs300,000. When we tried to return the child to her parents, we found out that the child had actually been sold by them for Rs94,000.”
He added Rs77,000 was also recovered from the possession of the accused.
The couple had five daughters. When the sixth daughter was born, Imtiaz decided to sell her so they could make some money.
A police official told The Express Tribune that the accused, Imtiaz, who frequently used drugs, sold his daughter to Yasmin, the ring leader who was already active in child abduction and trafficking cases. “The baby was bought for Rs94,000 and was then being sold for Rs300,000 to
another man, who was to sell her to another man.”
Yasmin was arrested by the K-P police a few days ago. She was earlier arrested by the Islamabad police in a similar case but was later released on bail. In that case she, along with other gang members, was found involved in the trade of children.
Related News:
The News: Couple arrested in Peshawar for selling child to gang
MULTAN: City Police Officer Azhar Akram has said that two persons are directly involved in the murder of Qandeel Baloch while one accused facilitated the murder. He, however, denied giving clean chit to cleric Mufti Abdul Qavi and said his name had been added under Section 109 of the PPC in the case.
Addressing a press conference at the Police Headquarters here on Saturday, CPO Azhar Akram said that Mufti Abdul Qavi would be arrested and interrogated after collection of sufficient evidences. He said that complainant Muhammad Azim had nominated Mufti Abdul Qavi and he would be questioned at any stage.
Qandeel Baloch in her press conference on June 28 had leveled charges on the cleric, he said. CPO Azhar Akram claimed that accused Muhammad Wasim and Haq Nawaz allegedly strangled Qandeel Baloch and accused taxi driver Abdul Basit provided his taxi for boarding and lodging to the accused.
He said that the case was technically crystal clear and the accused would be convicted. Responding to a query, he said that the absence of eyewitness would not affect the case trial and police had collected sufficient evidences, which were enough to convict the accused persons.
He said that the case complainant and the father of slain had nominated Mufti Abdul Qavi and he would be interrogated after receiving sufficient evidences. The police were waiting for polygraph test, DNA and some forensic reports results to submit challans, he added.
He said that extraordinary security measures had been taken in connection with the Independence Day and joint teams of police and army had been constituted. Check posts had been established at three points at Sher Shah, Head Muhammadwala and Qadirpur Rawan at entry and exit points and no vehicle would be allowed to enter without scanning, he informed.
Each vehicle would be properly checked through bio-metric system, he maintained. Briefing the journalists on children kidnapping incidents, he rejected such rumors and said that no child abduction case had been reported in Multan yet due to safe security measures.
Two types of missing children cases had been reported, which include the children run away after receiving parents beating them and the category of missing children due to family disputes, he continued. The police had recovered majority of children in both categories, he added.
As many as 40 children were missing, including 18 boys and 22 girls, and 35 of them had been recovered, he claimed. Majority of the missing children cases belong to domestic feud between mother and father, he clarified.
He said that some fictitious pictures were being displayed on social media and the FIA was taking action under the new Cyber Law against those posted wrong pictures on social media and defamed the country image.
Actually all such pictures were taken from other countries but wrongly portrayed to Pakistan, he claimed. CPO Azhar Akram appealed to the media to avoid from spreading panic and running rumors based stories, which were playing vital role in terrorizing masses at all levels.
He said that police reserves had been provided to all circles and they were monitoring and patrolling every nook and corner in the district.
The CPO appealed to the political representatives, clerics, traders and the people from different walks of life for playing their individual role in sensitisation of the masses on safety and security issues.
Related News:
The News: Mufti Abdul Qavi says he will cooperate with police
The Nation: Not indicted in Qandeel murder case, insists Mufti Qawi
Business Recorder: Qandeel Baloch murder case: Mufti Qavi goes into hiding: police
KARACHI: The provincial government on Monday informed the Sindh High Court that a 21-member provincial commission on status of women would be established within two months for the protection of karo-kari victims, as the chief minister had approved its summary early this month.
A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar, was conducting proceedings against the chief secretary and others for not complying with a court’s earlier order regarding the commission for the protection of victims of karo-kari.
The bench had earlier issued a show-cause notice to the chief secretary in a contempt of court application for not implementing the order.
The chief secretary appeared before the bench and submitted a detailed reply to the show-cause notice. He said that a summary for the commission under the Status of the Women Act, 2015 had been approved by the chief minister on Aug 5, 2016.
The officer said a committee had also been notified by the Services and General Administration and Coordination Department and applications had been invited for the selection of commission’s chairperson and members.
As for the court’s direction regarding the establishment of safe houses and rescue centres for the female victims at district and taluka level, the chief secretary filed a list of notified safe houses in Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas divisions.
The report said that all divisional commissioners had been instructed to utilize funds under the head of “maintenance and repair” for the maintenance of the notified safe houses within their respective jurisdictions.
Advocate General Zamir Ghumro informed the court that shelter houses and rescue centres for the female victims had been established at taluka level in Sukkur, Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad and Hyderabad divisions.
He said funds had also been made for the smooth functioning of these facilities under the supervision of deputy commissioners.
The provincial government’s chief law officer assured the judges that affirmative action would be taken for protecting rights of women.
He informed the court that strict action would be taken against the area police officials in case jirga took place in their respective jurisdictions.
Referring to the list of the safe houses and rescue centres in Sukkur, Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad and Hyderabad divisions, he said safe houses were set up in Sukkur, New Sukkur, Rohri, Pano Akil, Saleh Pat, Khangarh, Ghotki, Mirpur Mathelo, Dharki, Ubauro, Kotdiji, Sobhodero, Nara, Khairpur, Kingri, Chambat, Tharimirwah, Larkana, Kamber, Shikarpur, Kashmore/Kandhkot, Jacobabad, Nawabshah, Dur, Sakrand, Qazi Ahmed, Naushahro Feroze, Moro, Kandiaro, Bhirya, Mehrabpur, Sanghar, Tando Adam, Jam Nawaz Ali, Shahdadpur, Khipro, Sinjhoro, Thatta, Hyderabad, Dadu, Badin, Jamshoro, Tando Allahyar, Sujawal, Tando M. Khan and Matiari.
The AG said that the rescue centres had been established at the offices of different SSPs and police stations.
He said that the provincial government had decided to establish standardized safe houses in all talukas of Sukkur, Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad divisions and all district headquarters of Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas divisions.
The AG said that the proposed standardized shelter homes would have a covered area of 400 square yards with four residential rooms with attached bathrooms.
The bench vacated the show-cause notice served upon the chief secretary after perusing his reply and hearing AG’s submissions.
The bench put off the hearing to a date to be later pronounced by the court’s office.