Aurat March Islamabad Twitter
Just over 2 weeks ago, a woman who was travelling from Lahore to Gujranwala along with her 2 children was gang-raped by 2 men at gunpoint. This horrific incident happened while she was waiting for help on the motorway after her car ran out of petrol. The delayed response to the emergency calls made by the victim have exposed the lack of coordination between the Lahore Police and the Motorway Police. This is despite spending billions of rupees on the “Safe City Project” which is part of a region-wide initiative to increase safety by controlling crime through surveillance.
The initial investigation into the gang-rape and contradictory statements of senior officers suggests that the delayed response over ‘jurisdiction’ is more serious than what simply appears to be an unmanned motorway. Ever since its operationalisation, the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway has ‘remained unmanned both in terms of its security and traffic management’. This meant that when the victim called the helpline of the Motorway Police, she was denied assistance because the area in question was not covered by the Pakistan National Highway and Motorway Police.
A senior police officer requesting anonymity told The News that this incident had exposed the lack of a coordinated response and surveillance that the Safe City Project was meant to provide.
What did that mean for the victim?
It meant that between the time she called for help and the help arrived, she was gang-raped in front of her children.
Why did the Motorway Police not assess her distressful situation and call the local police? Why was the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway not formally handed over to the Motorway Police despite being open to the public for months? Why did this incident occur after spending billions of rupees on a project that aims to address the safety of women?
There are many questions that come to mind when reading about this incident, but the most shocking fact is that this was avoidable.
Lahore Capital City Police Officer Umar Sheikh, blamed the victim for going through the route she chose to take and said she should have ‘at least’ checked her cars fuel tank before getting on the route.
His statement has since been condemned by several people including Dr. Shireen Mazarai, Minister for Human Rights and Inspector General Police Ghani who said he would ‘not defend’ CCPO Umar Sheikh’s comments regarding the incident.
‘Nothing can rationalise the crime of rape’
- Dr Shireen Mazarai
The issue with the CCPO Lahore’s wildly inappropriate statement is not that it was textbook victim blaming (which it was) but that he is a Police Chief. He is a high ranking member of an institution that is meant to serve and protect. For a public official to make such a callous statement, perpetuating victim-blaming myths is deeply upsetting. It shows the necessity of structural reform & radical change within Pakistan’s public institutions to ensure the end of this kind of violence.
His statement was also condemned by the organisers of the Aurat March, who organised marches in different cities of the country to demand justice and structural reform after the gang-rape. They took place in Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, and Karachi.
Protestors at the Karachi Press Club
In the Charter of Demands posted by the organisers of the Aurat March in Karachi, one of the demands reads:
“We demand radical structural and procedural reforms of all our public institutions to ensure they uphold our rights and reflect our best interests”.
- Aurat March Karachi Twitter
Hundreds of citizens took to the streets in the cities, chanting ‘meri jism meri marzi’ (my body my choice), holding placards that supported the removal of CCPO Lahore Umar Sheikh, and demanding justice for all victims of sexual violence.
Most of all they were demanding more from a system that enables a patriarchal culture of violence. A culture that doesn’t end with knee-jerk responses like public hangings and capital punishment, but rather radical change within institutions and reform across the country. I have faith that these issues will be addressed in Pakistan, and Pakistani women will continue to push the conversation forward in the years to come.
You can also find my article on the Fourth Floor's website:
Fourth Floor is a West London based collective dissecting the world and promoting young creatives across the globe.
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