May 11: Over 40,000 women representatives are present in
elected bodies, however, not a single law has been passed
to provide protection to women, and their miseries are on
the increase, said a report issued by the Peace Council
of Pakistan (PCP) here on Monday.
During the last one year as a whole, crimes
against women have gone up 50 per cent, and there has
been no let-up in the sufferings, miseries and indignities
suffered by them, the report observed.
At present, it notes, 234 women are members
of the national and provincial assemblies, and 40,000
are in local bodies. Out of them, 11 hold portfolio of
ministers and advisers in the federal and provincial cabinets,
while one is a deputy speaker in the Sindh Assembly.
"But this superficial representation"
has not contributed anything to the welfare of poor women,
because the feudal and wealthy elite who hold all power
in the country from the very first day "have succeeded
in getting their wives, sisters, daughters, nieces and
daughters-in-law elected to parliamentary institutions".
According to the PCP, thousands of women
became victims of serious crimes like abduction, gang
rape, honour killings, death by immolation or acid or
by stove bursts etc.
During one year, more than 800 cases of
violence against women had been reported where women were
paraded naked in the streets and subjected to other methods
of torture and demeaning treatment.
According to the report, 152 women were
either set on fire or burnt with acid due to dowry and
family feuds. Of these, 8 per cent lost their lives because
of lack of burn units and relevant equipment in hospitals.
More than 200 women committed suicide
because of poverty, sense of deprivation, unemployment
and marriage against their will. More than 500 women became
victims of honour killing for which "Karo Kari"
is the term used in Sindh, "Sia-Kari" in Balochistan,
"Kali Kari" in the Punjab and "Tor Tora"
in the NWFP.
The report said the condition of women
in rural areas was particularly dismal, as they suffered
owing to acute poverty, illiteracy and poor health. Besides
working at home, they work in fields.
No attention is, however, ever paid towards
their miserable condition. It said 45 per cent women of
the countryside lacked health facilities and, as a result,
1.4 million lost their lives annually.
The government has created a separate
ministry for the development and welfare of women, in
addition to a bank and some police stations. But it is
surprising that a mere 0.1 per cent of national budget
has been allocated for the purpose, the report said.
At present, thousands of women are in
jail under "Hudood" Ordinance and other discriminatory
laws, and 90 per cent of them belong to poor families.
