Voice of Gender News From Pakistan
Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon has said police have arrested two suspects in the rape case of a girl in Tharparkar. He said on Tuesday the police had taken immediate action and arrested Mushtaq Bajeer and Nabi Bakhsh Bajeer, who would be produced in court for remand on Wednesday (today).
Source: The News
A private schoolteacher was arrested for allegedly subjecting a teenage schoolgirl to rape, along with four of his companions, in the Surjani Town area on Tuesday.
Police said Syed Hassan Alam registered FIR No. 1548/22 at the Surjani Town police station against schoolteacher Basit and four of his unidentified companions. Following the registration of the case, the police arrested the teacher, while raids for arresting his companions are under way.
Police said that on September 27, the arrested suspect gave his 13-year-old student some sleep-inducing substance at the school, following which the girl fell unconscious, then he took her to an empty plot near the school to allegedly rape her, along with his four companions.
Police also said the suspect threatened the girl with dire consequences if she told about the incident to anyone, saying that he would kill her younger sister, who also studied at the same school.
Officials said that a medical examination of the victim has been conducted, while the police are waiting for the report. They said the incident came into the notice of the family after the victim seemed unwell and scared, and she was also not going to school.
Police said that growing suspicious, the parents asked the child what was wrong, and then she told the family about the entire incident, following which the family approached the police for registering a case.
Source: The News
ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi, through letters addressed to the prime minister, ministers, parliamentarians, governors and journalists, has asked for their support in raising awareness about breast cancer and the importance of self-examination and early diagnosis.
The president invited them to become active and willing partners in this year’s breast cancer awareness campaign wherein women of underprivileged classes and women of flood-hit areas would be especially focused in the wake of recent devastating floods.
Dr Alvi pointed out that out of the 100,000 new cases of breast cancer reported every year in Pakistan, half of them succumbed to the disease due to late diagnosis. He added that 98pc of these precious lives could be saved by creating awareness amongst women about self-examination and early diagnosis.
Says half of women with breast cancer die due to late diagnosis
The president said that the campaign since the last four years, was led by First Lady Begum Samina Arif Alvi and had resulted in a significant increase in early reporting of breast cancer cases in hospitals.
In his letters addressed to eminent journalists, he thanked them for their continuous support during the last four years and said that without their support and passionate partnership the success of the campaigns could have not been possible.
He called upon them to play their role this year as well to create awareness among women on the paramount importance of self-examination and early diagnosis through news bulletins, special reports, dramas, morning shows, articles, columns and editorials.
The president enlisted a number of activities which have been planned this year to educate women and highlight the importance of self-diagnosis and early detection.
He added that this year’s awareness campaign would also underline the importance of meeting the nutritional needs of women of underprivileged classes and flood-hit areas.
Women must be educated about the importance of a healthy diet to minimise health-related issues, including breast cancer, he added.
It is worth mentioning that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and an annual campaign is launched to raise awareness about the impact of breast cancer and raise voices together to help spread the word about the importance of breast cancer screening and support.
Source: Dawn
GUJAR KHAN: A session’s court in Jhelum sentenced two persons to life imprisonment and imposed a fine amounting to Rs1 million each on both of them for raping a girl multiple times and extorting money from her by blackmailing her.
The persons were identified as Usmanul Haq and Mohammad Saeed.
According to details, the victim reported to Saddar police of Jhelum in July 2021 that she studied in a private college in 2020 and was told by the two persons that she could get employed in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
The two pretended to be agents of FIA, called her to meet and raped her after kidnapping her. The suspects also recorded obscene videos of her and took pictures. They blackmailed her later by using this material. She said that both of them extorted money from a joint bank account operated by her and her mother.
She said they demanded from her gold jewellery and when she went to hand it over to them, they forcefully took her to Rawat where she was subjected to sexual assault again.
They confiscated her documents and took signed cheques from her. The victim told police that both persons asked her to give them Rs400, 000 in exchange for deleting the video clips and returning the documents.
They were arrested by police who recovered around Rs1 million along with documents of the victim from them. While hearing the case on Tuesday, Additional Sessions Judge Shahbaz Hussain announced the sentence.
Source: Dawn
RAWALPINDI: The Provincial Intelligence Centre (PIC), in a report, has accused some Attock district jail employees of raping and sexually harassing women visiting prisoners.
It also revealed that drug use had become widespread in Attock jail due to presence of powerful mafias on its premises.
The PIC field staff conducted discreet inquiry into the affairs of the district jail and submitted the report to Inspector General of Prisons Mirza Shahid Saleem Baig on Sept 30.
The allegation by a jail employee about involvement of some staffers in sexual harassment and rape of women visiting convicts was the most horrifying, the report said.
“This is quite disturbing and can lead to a scandal that will reflect poorly on the Punjab administration,” it added.
The PIC field staff recommended an inquiry into the affairs of the district jail by a high-powered committee headed by an upright and honest officer in the rank of an additional secretary.
The jail staff found guilty of violating the jail manual or involved in torture, corruption, extortion and sexual harassment should be punished, said the report.
It also recommended that the dignity and privacy of women visitors to the jail must be safeguarded and female staff should solely be responsible to handle them.
“Besides, all detainees must be protected from sexual abuse and harassment,” the report said, adding that the district jail was rife with unchecked corruption and malpractices committed in connivance with jail officials.
“A girl who visits the jail to see one of the inmate’s supplies drugs to the prisoners. A pack of charas worth Rs500 outside is sold for Rs3, 000 to Rs3, 500 inside the prison,” the report said.
“Powerful mafias of drug peddlers have deep roots inside the jail with the support of jail administration and are making unchecked profit by selling contraband. And they also pay due share to the jail management,” the report said.
It also stated that some people being held in jail on drug-related offences had started the heinous business of selling drugs to addicts with the support of jail staff.
The report said prisoners were reportedly allowed to get food of their choice from outside after paying bribe to the staff, adding that rich and well-off prisoners manage to get themselves admitted to government hospitals outside the jail after bribing jail officials.
Meeting between prisoners and their family members has become a lucrative business for jail staffers.
A visitor reportedly has to pay Rs500 to Rs2, 000 as bribe to the jail staff to meet relatives, the report said.
Mr Baig, the IG prisons, who is retiring on October 20, could not be contacted for comments.
Source: Dawn