“Hawa Ki Beti” Victimized Again

Saleem Abbas

A kid named Hasnain was  ghastly assassinated after sexual assault in Gilgit a couple of months back. The shock waves generated by that murder was sill in the air and now we have heard of a first-year student being raped in Skardu after kidnapping, while she was returning home after taking lessons at a tuition center.

My salute to the girl who after reached the police station to report the incident. Her valor is truly meritorious, because she has exposed those scums, and jostled the society at large. She may have blocked the path for many such nefarious designs of future rapists, by approaching the law to seek justice.

This is definitely not the first incident of its kind, but it has certainly enabled the public to rally around the survivor, seeking justice, hopefully followed by deep reflections on deterioration of our social fabric.

In our daily lives, we have been hearing stories about sexual assaults, in whispering voices which soon drown and vanish in the cacophony of the society. Many families, or victims, do not approach the police for the fear of defamation, being ridiculed and looked at with suspicion. Many a time, the people also do not approach the police, because there’s severe trust deficit between the police and the public. Justice in cases of rape is rare. Instead, in many cases the victims have to prove that they actually were rapped, which is disgusting, to say the least.

All these factors give free hand to rapists, molesters and eve-teasers who roam in the streets, tormenting girls and women. Such cases are increasing with the passage of time in different parts of Gilgit-Baltistan, and it is a point for deep reflection and course-correction.

This incident has raised many questions. How many of such cases before was resolved? How many of them were exculpated due to political and other interventions? How can such incidents be tolerated in a small city like Skardu?? Isn’t  the city administration  responsible for giving time frame to the coaching centers? But these questions have remained unanswered from day one.

Che Guevara said, “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty”. Shockingly, instead of pushing us to resistance, such incidents become causes of slowly fading debates, which remain inconclusive most of the time. Action is what we lack.

Just a sentence to condemn such an immoral incidence is not enough. Let’s be practical, start from ourselves, self-accountability and knowing our individuals responsibility is the first step against these ridiculous blunders. Hanging them may be the solution, but strengthening the institutions to eradicate these notions is indeed long-term solution.

About Me:

The contributor is a student of Electrical Power Engineering at Comsats Abbottabad. He is also the founding CEO of Glow Together Baltistan, a local org. Email: abbassaleem14@yahoo.com