Daily Times

Violence has no gender. It is not just the torchbearers of patriarchy that target women in our part of the world. Consider the killing of a young woman in Daska, Sialkot district, who was seven months pregnant. The incident must stun the entire country. Reports said a 26-year-old woman from Gujranwala, who goes by the name of Zehra, was allegedly murdered by her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. This unfortunate event sheds light on the rising incidences of domestic violence in Pakistan, despite several protective measures put in place to shield women from harm.

Zehra was in solemn matrimony for four years duration. The husband is overseas and has been in hiding following the incident. Police say Sughra Bibi, the mother-in-law, and Yasmeen, a sister-in-law, allegedly killed Zahra and later cut her remains. Shreds of her remains were then also burnt to conceal her identity. Lastly, they threw the corpse’s remains in a canal while fabricating stories about her running away.

The police took action and arrested Sughra, Yasmeen and their grandson Abdullah. Evidence gathered from CCTV and forensic tests proved the crime. For further proof, the four mobile phones belonging to Zehra are being examined. To ascertain her identity, DNA samples are being collected.

This is not the first case of this kind. Violence against women is very common in Pakistan. As per the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, 90% of women are living or have experienced domestic violence within their life cycle. Many do not report for fear of stigma or societal pressure. In 2022, for example, more than 5,000 incidents of violence against women were registered. The actual statistics are probably significantly worse.

Some of the existing laws such as the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act of 2012 have provisions to help the survivors of domestic violence. However, implementation is poor. Many such women do not get any help and justice is denied to them. Such cases take years in the courts which put the survivors at risk. In the country’s countryside, the risk is even worse since I have identified cultural beliefs about women being subordinate to men.

Cases such as Zehra’s, along with one from Muzaffargarh in which a woman was set on fire by her in-laws, call for immediate intervention. The system of justice should provide that justice is served without delay. *