Islamabad, Sep 8 (IANS) A rise in sexual violence incidents against women has exposed the dangers faced by women in Pakistan and the failure of the institutions meant to protect them. These incidents of sexual violence against women involve both educated and uneducated men committing crimes like sexual assault, rape, torture and killings.
On August 20, a 45-year-old woman was found dead at her residence in Pakistan's Rawalpindi with signs of torture. Her husband, Faisal Asghar Imam, a university medical professor and domestic worker were arrested in the domestic abuse case, according to a report in Australia-based 'Pearls and Irritations'.
"With the recent rise in crimes, it is clearly visible how Pakistani women’s lives are increasingly under siege. In Quetta, Dr Mahnoor Nasir was attacked with acid inside Sandeman Provincial Hospital after rejecting a man’s advances, leaving her with severe burns and symbolising the lack of safety of professional women even in workplaces which are meant to be safe," wrote Pakistani writer and researcher Anam Zahra.
Another heinous crime took place in Lahore, where an 18-year-old domestic worker was raped repeatedly by her employer's son and driver. She later died after a forced abortion.
In another case, a woman was killed by her 64-year-old husband after she was not ready for marital relations, exposing the patriarchal mindset to control women's body in domestic spaces, the report in Pearls and Irritations mentioned.
"If you ask Pakistan’s women about their opinion regarding the country’s law and security measures for women’s protection, the majority would express their deep disappointment and pessimism. The law of the country favours the rich and criminals in a way that justice for the victim is a mere fiction," wrote Zahra.
Despite a rise in cases of sexual crimes against women, Pakistan has no mechanism to ensure the safety and well-being of its women. Pakistan does not have helplines or a functional monitoring system which operates with emergency responsiveness that could save thousands of women who are beaten to death within domestic spaces and outside their homes.
In June, Pakistan was ranked last globally in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2025. Pakistan's overall gender parity score also dropped from 57 per cent in 2024 to 56.7 per cent in 2025. These numbers, a report detailed, showcase the inequalities faced by women in Pakistan regularly across economic participation and independence, social freedoms, political representation, education, health and personal agency and autonomy.
"Statistics and lived experiences point toward inequalities, where violence against women is widespread. For women and young girls, navigating public spaces remains challenging even after decades of legislation, women’s rights activism, and work by several organisations, both domestic and international, like UN Women in Pakistan, Oxfam and so on. Yet, gender disparity, discussions of women’s rights and violence against women are among some of the most contentious subjects in Pakistan," Mariyam Suleman Anees, a Pakistan-based freelance writer, wrote in The Diplomat.
"Educational institutions, workplaces, markets, public transport, and even the home, which is often regarded as the safest place — none has spared women from violence. Earlier this month, a woman doctor on duty in a public hospital in Balochistan’s capital of Quetta was brutally attacked with acid by the hospital’s lift operator," wrote Anees.
Following the incident, protests erupted in several parts of Pakistan, demanding the safety of working women, a ban on the sale of acid and the implementation of anti-acid attack legislation. According to The Diplomat report, Pakistan has no official statistics about acid attacks.
According to World Bank data, women only comprise 22 per cent of total labour force in Pakistan. Economic exclusion is a major hindrance and cases like the recent acid attack on a female doctor inside the hospital further discourage women from pursuing professional careers.
--IANS
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