Islamabad: Members of civil society protest against Skardu rape incident

Irfan Chourbati

Islamabad, March 11: Members of the Civil Society of Gilgit-Baltistan demonstrated against the rape of a college girl in Skardu city of Gilgit Baltistan on 7^th of March, a day before International Women Day.

The demonstrators demanded strict action against the rapists and expressed solidarity with the victim and her family. They also urged the entire society to reflect on the deteriorating social fabric and take appropriate measures to address the issue.

The protestors said that the Government and Non-Government Organizations should play their role in moral upgradation of the youth so that such acts should not happen again in the future.

They further said that it is the responsibility of religious scholars and political leaders to promote awareness about the rights of the individuals.

Civil Society member Haider Kazmi said, “Time has come for us to speak against such heinous crimes, instead of hiding such incidents for the so called image of the society.”

Asif, member for International Movement for Justice and Peace, demanded justice for the victim at any cost.

Safeer Mehdi, President of Baltistan Student’s Federation Rawalpindi/Islamabad Zone, emphasized that the culprits should be punished so that such crimes should occur again.”

Noor Pamiri, a blogger and activist, said that the rate of crimes is increasing because in many cases the criminals remain unpunished.

Members of the Quaidian Balti Forum, a student society of Quiad-e-Azam University Islamabad, Syed Ali Raza and Ms Anita Shigri speaking at the protest said we need to look at the root causes of such horrendous incidents and tackle them on war footings.

Advocate Dilshad Ali Haideri, a practicing lawyer at Islamabad High Court said that there are number of such cases of rape which goes un-reported due to the social stigma.”

Shakeel Ali, a student from NUML, expressed strong grievances against the incident.

Shabbir Mayar in his speech urged the youth to stand for their rights and bring an end to the culture of silence.

IIyas said that the girl who has suffered in this incident is not actually a victim, but she a hero who is advocating the number of unreported cases.”

The protest was organized by Syed Haider Kazmi and Irfan Chourbati on behalf of Civil Society of Gilgit Baltistan in collaboration with Baltistan Students Federation Rawalpindi Islamabad Zone.