Daily Times

Pakistani men are no robots and after a long, long list of daughters of the land falling victim to their bestial urges, a foreign national can also vouch for the grave error in their ways. The American social media activist and vlogger has been said to be gang-raped by a group of people she had trusted as her eyes and ears on the ground.

The economics and international outcry involved are bound to force the state to not only pledge a thorough, fast-track trial but also see it through. After all, the leader of the free world is far too precious of an ally to sever ties with.

Sadly, the plight of more than 14,000 other women raped in the past four years (the actual number would be considerably higher) cannot be addressed at the expense of fragile male egos and the widespread chauvinistic tendencies. We, at Daily Times, have time and again emphasised how the homeland supposedly established to ensure the security of all its citizens is well on its way to replacing its notorious neighbour as the rape capital of the world.

And while such arduous times call for immediate introspection by the authorities, our politicians continue to bizarrely add to the fire with their ill-thought-out statements. From CCPO Lahore throwing the motorway rape victim under the bus to the former prime minister’s quite matter-of-factedly validation of rape, violence against women is usually not taken seriously at home. Wasn’t it just two years ago that yet another foreigner living in Islamabad had levelled accusations against leading politicians of raping and manhandling her? If her blue passport and phenomenal influence in the powerful corridors could not stand between her and the predators, imagine the lifelong horrors of ordinary women forced to choose between life and honour.

The luckiest of the lot might get through with trauma after being assaulted in broad daylight but those like Noor Muqaddam are ridiculed even in death. All this while the rich and the mighty laugh the terrifying episodes off claiming that such issues are an easy way to make money. *