ISLAMABAD: As the government continues to slowly tread forward on two women’s protection bills.
According to statistical figures compiled by women rights NGO “Aurat Foundation”, of the 724 women murdered in the province last year, 190 were killed by their husbands, 50 by their brothers and 24 by their fathers.
The pattern was prevalent especially in honour killing cases, where 75 out of 170 women were killed by their brothers, 36 by their husbands and 20 by their fathers.
Despite calls for the swift passage of the anti-honour killing and anti-rape bills, the government has appeared unwilling to expedite the legislations even as incidents of violence against women increase across the country.
Deepening political turmoil in the shape of anti-government protests by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and other parties has effectively distorted govt’s pursuit for pro-women bills.
Director Advocacy, Aurat Foundation, Rabeea Hadi said that in urban areas, specifically in industrial cities, more cases of violence against women were reported because of easy media access.
She said the factor of poverty also played an important role in these crimes.
“Women are not allowed to do things of their free will and men want to control their lives. This control mechanism generally generates domestic violence against women irrespective of the victim’s relation: she may be a wife, daughter, mother, sister or any other relative,” she maintained.
