Daily Times

KARACHI: Professionals and intellectual women rejected findings of a recent survey done by an international news agency that named Karachi as 2nd most dangerous city for women in the world.

According to a survey conducted by Thomson Reuters Foundation, Cairo was the world’s most dangerous city for woman and Karachi ranked second as most dangerous city for women in the world.

Another report by The Economist Intelligence Unit placed Karachi in a list comprising 60 of the world’s safest cities.

Nusrat Seher Abbasi, a provincial legislator associated with Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F), said we should consider Karachi a safe city as law enforcement agencies, especially Rangers, had played a vital role in making Karachi a safer city.

Abbasi said women from all over Pakistan were coming to work and study in Karachi, proving that it is a safe city for women. She said just because of a few recent ‘knife attacks’ on women, (which had been confined to one specific region), the city cannot be classified as a dangerous city.

On the other hand, we do need to work on women’s health and personal security, and need to control police engagement and political involvement, she added

Saima Khan, an anchor person, was of the view that women in Karachi were safer than they had ever been. Of course the women suffer, because we live in developing country but it is not the most dangerous city for women, she said.

Khan said she regularly goes for a walk at the beach and there are extensive security arrangements allowing women to move about without any fear. “Karachi is a secure city in South Asia”, she added

She said India’s capital was forth among worst mega cities in the world when it came to the safety of women, why people are after Karachi?

She insisted the opportunity for women to play a full and leading role cannot be taken for granted, but required reliable data, sound policies and decisive actions by city leaders.

Aurat Foundation Director Mehnaz Rehman said Karachi is safer than most cities in South Asia but women have different lifestyles and different problems as they work as domestic workers, in factories, departmental stores, private firms, among other fields of life. In Karachi we have fewer cases of harassment and violence as compared to other cities, she said.

She said a woman traveling in a car was safer than someone using public transport, and a woman using public transport was safer than someone walking on a road. Women suffer all over the world, not only in Karachi, she said.

Uzma Yameen, a psychologist, shared her views that during her tour in Thailand, “I missed my city too much because I was not feeling like at home and safe and sound which I feel in Karachi”, she said.

Yameen said everything was not as difficult for women as often portrayed. We see women working hard in all aspects of life and they have been proving themselves in every walk of life. “All over the world women are subjected to harassment, whether psychological, verbal or physical”, she said

Yameen demanded there should be a fine or punishment for people staring at women such as in Dubai.

Shakeela Sheikh, a blogger, said safe atmosphere for women found in Karachi is hard to find anywhere else in Pakistan. Although we face problems, it is still a secure city for women, she said.

Karachi University Women’s Studies Director Nasreen Aslam Shah said 70 percent students studying at Karachi University were females. If the city was not secure for women, why would the students’ parents send them to Karachi?, she asked. She said women are mistreated all over the world, but the respect Islam gives to a woman, has no parallels.

She said it was just propaganda planned to tarnish the image of Karachi and Pakistan..

Published in Daily Times, October 26th 2017.