Incidents of rape are becoming endemic in Pakistani society, unfortunately giving impetus to its sensationalist reporting in the media, more specifically on news channels. A heated debate associated with it argues whether it is advisable to publicly discuss the incident of rape and highlight the unfortunate victims in the media. Evidently, public opinion opposes it — there is a clear-cut no. However, this answer is not that clear-cut; it involves certain complications.
In 2013, among 36 districts in Punjab, 26 did not report a single incident of rape. Why are these people silent about rape? Our society attaches some stigmas to rape and more to reporting the rape victim, especially since the taunts and torments faced by Mukhtaran Mai after being gang-raped in 2002. Unfortunately, this reporting is enjoyed as a ‘salty spicy’ news item. This depicts how apathetic we have become.
Most people have been propagating through the media, or any other forum, that keeping silent is the best option in such circumstances. Answering what they believe bizarre, humiliating and immoral questions in a court of law heaps ignominy and disgrace on the rape victim who is already undergoing the effects of a trauma. Of course, grilling at such a point in time may shake the confidence of even a highly brave and bold molested woman. In a 1998 survey of women who reported assault crimes, the police had molested no less than 72 percent of the women as a punishment for their bold act of reporting the crime. The women that are raped under custody are less likely to get justice or remain faithful to the justice system after being raped by those who are supposed to be their defenders.
From my point of view, though it is pretty simple, the more women report the crime, the more the rapist gets punished and the more it will infuse fright and horror in the rapist who perpetrates such a heinous crime blatantly. However, we live in Pakistan where the law has a lax grip.
Many hideous examples of rape exist: the comfort zones established for army officers in Japan for women to be used as objects of pleasure and the mutilation of between 300,000 to 400,000 Bengali women by Pakistani officers, during the ‘liberation’ process in 1971; these are all a form of punishment and retaliation, which the Pakistan army denies to this day. Unfortunately, the male genitals are considered a weapon, and rape is considered a form of revenge and a way to curb male anger and frustration.
When cruelty and torture become rampant under certain conditions, such as wartime, and during days of public turmoil, such gruesome crimes are feared widely and hence acceptable, though reluctantly. Similarly, there were Mughal emperors with harems, habitats for the women who were acquired commonly by the princes and officials residing in the palace. Sexual slavery has not only been a regular phenomenon but also an acceptable social norm throughout human history till about a century back.
I recently overheard a woman comment about Mukhtaran Mai when she said, “Har kisi ko Mukhtaran ki tarhan rape kara ke green card nahi mil jata” (Not every woman gets herself raped and earns a green card for it). Such is the mentality surrounding rape and its victims. Moreover, General Pervez Musharraf, who was the president at the time, published this in the Washington Post: “You must understand the environment in Pakistan. This has become a moneymaking concern. A lot of people say ‘if you want to go abroad and get a visa for Canada or citizenship and be a millionaire, get yourself raped’.” It is a shocking and uncanny statement that truthfully reflects the typical Pakistani mindset.
One wonders if it is wise to report rape and fight against it in such conditions. Of course, I disagree with the bizarre green card theory that this woman came up with, but it is true that not every woman gets support for standing against this crime. Even Mukhtaran, to this day, is haunted by the scepticism of people who think of her as a manipulative traitor who brought a bad name to society. However, the question remains: how many of them actually try? Very few. While most incidents of the crime are unreported, how can we hurl such a generalised statement for all women?
Some people substantiate their opposition of proceeding with such cases with the logic that the agony and disgrace heaped on the family as a result is simply unbearable; it outweighs, by far, the gratification sought from getting justice. The highlighting of the crime is helping to remove the stigma against reporting the crime and discussing it.
After five-year-old Sumbul’s case, who was gang-raped and dumped outside a plaza in Lahore and another similar case of another five-year old who was raped and dumped outside a railway station in Sibi the following year, it becomes shocking to read lurid details printed in newspapers. When reporting, rape becomes a common thing and serves to humiliate the rapist. Proper reporting will definitely encourage silent victims to speak out, for whatever it is worth, and society will be forced to accommodate and accept them.
Another interesting thing is that people — and when I say people I mean middle-aged people — believe that the incidents of rape have spiked alarmingly over recent years. They have little idea of the sombre figures of unreported crime in official documents. It is not that rape is an invention of the 21st century, it is just that it was more unreported in the past and, therefore, unidentified, bringing protection to the criminal ultimately. No wonder then that most Pakistanis are not willing to accept rape as a reality, just like they are unwilling to accept other things and realities such as transsexuals.
The truth is that every member of society is vulnerable to the crime of rape: me, you, he, she or whoever you believe to be safe. None is safe — none ever was.
The writer is a student of Kinnaird College