Females in Dar ul Aman to Support Victims Women Who Throw Out by their Families

Females in Dar ul Aman Lahore:

Among the hundreds of complaints annually made against couples marrying without the consent of their families, the charge usually made is that of the boy having abducted the girl. The two are then detained, the latter informally in Dar ul Aman Lahore. The detention sometimes goes on for years as the trail winds its way. The idea mainly is somehow to keep tormenting the couple. The Commission visited Dar ul Aman Lahore where they recorded statements of women to discover that a substantial number of them were locked up simply for the "crime of marrying by choice.

Recently File Case of Murder of Woman Buried by Dar ul Aman:

A few weeks after the Commission's visit to the Dar ul Aman Lahore, it was reported in the press that one such female was shot dead while being taken to the court for recording her statement. Zubaida was murdered in broad daylight. She was buried by the staff of Dar ul Aman Lahore as no one came forward to claim her dead body. This type of vendetta which is taken to the extent of killing the girl before she has a chance to record her statement before a court is not rare. Unfortunately, the loss of such innocent lives receives very little public condemnation or even a statement of regret by political or religious leaders or the administration. Biases against women are rampant and particularly apparent among the police force. They often use abusive or scandalous language against women.

Complaints for harassment and rape in Pakistan:

There have been several complaints of sexual harassment, molestation, and rape of women in police stations. It is apparent that the decision-makers have been aware of this Violation of women and therefore the Parliament has recently enacted a law whereby women cannot be kept in police stations overnight. The law may protect a few but will still not be able to keep the police from misusing its powers by arresting women without recording their presence in the police station. The notoriously harsh treatment of citizens by the police is particularly accentuated in the case of women. Apart from physical violence, the police are devoid of all sensitivity toward female victims of rape. There are quite a few incidents where a victim of rape has subsequently been challenged under the offense of Zina rather than being recognized as the victim of the offense of Zina-bil-jabr (rape) reported by Dar ul Aman Lahore.

Victim of Rape in Catch-22 Situation:

The victim of rape is often in a Catch-22 situation: if she reports rape she runs the risk of being accused of Zina, if she does not, her subsequent pregnancy may bring that charge against her anyway. The charges are framed under the offense of Zina and her handicap worsens as the legal process advances. The police use indecent language against the woman and presume open or tacit consent even in the incident of rape, while judgments of the Federal Shariat Court have recently been relatively balanced; they are nevertheless unable to save rape victims from arrest. In one of the reported cases studied by the Commission, a female accused was acquitted by the Federal Shariat Court although she had not filed an appeal.