by Kamran Chaudhry

The Christian NGO Centre for legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) organized a meeting over violence against women. More than 900 cases of honor killings, 500 cases of abductions and more than 400 cases of gang rapes were reported in Punjab last year.

Lahore (AsiaNews) - Being women is the "first crime" in our society while being a non Muslim women is a double crime, said Mehboob Khan legal aid advisor of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan HRCP. Centre for legal Aid Assistance and Settlement discussed concerns over sexual and gender based violence in the country during a stakeholder meeting with legal fraternity of Lahore on July 8.

“Women, children and religious minorities are among the most disadvantage groups. Christians especially prefer to remain silent when it comes to speaking about social justice. There are different forms of gender based violence for which society is to be blamed”.

He was addressing more than 35 participants including lawyers and human rights activists. The event also marked launching of Centre for legal Aid Assistance and Settlement CLAAS Annual Report 2014. The Christian NGO noted three Christian females, including an eight year old, raped by Muslims in Punjab province last year. CLAAS pursued all these cases, visited concerned police stations and kept regular contact with families of the victims.

According to latest HRCP annual report, a woman is raped every two hours, and gang raped every eight hours. Less than four percent of Pakistan’s rape cases result in a conviction, it states. More than 3000 women have died in honour killings in Pakistan since 2008.

The panelists in Lahore meeting also noted that more than 900 cases of honor killings, 500 cases of abductions and more than 400 cases of gang rapes were reported in Punjab last year.

Ever since coming to power in 2013, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)'led Punjab government has only passed four pro women bills including one on reproductive, maternal, neo-natal and child health authority.

“Our struggles end at the doors of provincial assembly of the Punjab”, Bushra Khaliq, another panelist, told AsiaNews at the sidelines of the event. “A feudal and tribal mindset generally prevails among the lawmakers. Whenever the issue of a pro woman bill is raised, everybody becomes concerned about its misuse. This affects both the policy and psyche that follows”, said Executive Director of Women in Struggle for Empowerment.

• pakistan
• islam
• violence
• women
• gender
• punjab