The barbaric act of a woman being gang raped on a highway has sparked outrage in Pakistan. The police have questioned 15 people for questioning after two men allegedly gang raped a woman in front of her children after her car broke down on a deserted highway in the early hours of Thursday. The men have also stolen cash and jewellery from the woman before fleeing from the scene. The arrests took place on Thursday night. The woman was driving from Lahore to Gujranwala when the incident took place.
The doors of the car were locked after the vehicle ran out of fuel, but the men broke open a window and assaulted her in front of her terrified children. Prime Minister Imran Khan was quoted as saying in an AP report as saying, “such brutality and bestiality cannot be allowed in a civilised society.” He also said that the protection of women is the first priority and responsibility of the government.
Shortly after the incident, Lahore police chief Umar Shaikh said the woman should not have been travelling alone at that time.
"Such statements from people in charge should start with an apology in failing to protect citizens of Pakistan," Khadija Siddiqui, an activist and lawyer was quoted as saying in an Al Jazeera report. "They should apologise that women in this country have to suffer every day," she added.
Pakistan human rights minister Shireen Mazari condemned Shaikh for making such a statement. “For an officer to effectively blame a woman for being gang raped by saying she should have taken the GT Road or question as to why she went out in the night with her children is unacceptable and (we) have taken up this issue. Nothing can ever rationalise the crime of rape. That's it,” she wrote on Twitter.
According to provincial police, no policemen were deployed to patrol the newly constructed highway and that they would commence patrol duties immediately.
While sexual harassment and violence against women aren’t uncommon, gang rape is rare in Pakistan. Each year almost 1,000 women are killed as part of ‘honour killings’ in Pakistan for violating traditional norms and opting to marry a partner of their choice.
