The following is an excerpt from the March 11, 2010 U.S. State Department “2009 Human Rights Report: Pakistan” on the section involving women.

The complete report is at: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/sca/136092.htm

Women

Rape, other than by one’s spouse, is a criminal offense. An individual cannot be prosecuted for marital rape or for rape in a case in which a marriage between the perpetrator and victim was contracted but not solemnized. Although rape was frequent, prosecutions were rare. The Ministry of Women’s Development, Social Welfare, and Special Education was charged with handling these issues, with NGO assistance. On February 11, the Federal Shariat Court invalidated a 25-year-old legal provision allowing a man accused of rape to impeach the credibility of his alleged victim by offering evidence that she was “of generally immoral character.”

The Women’s Protection Act (WPA) of 2006 brought the crime of rape under the jurisdiction of criminal rather than Islamic courts. Previously, under the rape provision of the Hudood Ordinance, a woman was compelled to produce four male witnesses to corroborate her charge. Under the WPA, police are not allowed to arrest or hold a woman overnight at a police station without a civil court judge’s consent. In an attempt to bypass difficulties rape victims faced at police stations, a provision in the act called for a sessions judge to hear all rape cases. Women’s rights NGOs continued to assert that the law introduced barriers to rape victims who did not have money or access to the courts. Courts began bringing rape cases under the WPA rather than the Hudood Ordinances.

The punishment for rape ranges from 10 to 25 years in prison and a fine at a minimum or the death penalty at a maximum. The penalty for gang rape is either death or life imprisonment, but sentences were often much less severe.

There were no reliable national statistics on rape, due to the serious underreporting of the problem.

Police were at times implicated in rape cases. Police often abused or threatened victims and demanded they drop charges, especially when the accused had bribed police. Police demanded bribes from some victims before registering rape charges, and investigations were often superficial. NGOs reported that some police stations stopped recording rape complaints. Medical personnel did not have sufficient forensics training, which further complicated prosecutions.

On June 5, the Lahore High Court reviewed a case of alleged gang rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl. The girl, a resident of Sheikhupura, was allegedly raped by Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad along with others at Amin Hospital, then received a poisonous injection. According to police, the accused remained in custody at year’s end.

According to a July 26 New York Times article, two men abducted 16-year-old Assiya Rafiq and held her for approximately eight months, during which they repeatedly raped her. When the men handed her over to police in Khanewal district, south Punjab, police officers allegedly detained and raped her for 14 days. On June 19, a local court ordered an investigation and released Rafiq. At year’s end no arrests had been made, and no further action had been taken.

According to the AHRC, on October 5, five men kidnapped 16-year-old Ruby Perveen at gunpoint and gang-raped her. She was found semiconscious the next day at a bus stop in Shumali, Sargodha. Three of the alleged perpetrators–Qiaser Shahzad, Adeel Shahzad, and Irshad–were allegedly the sons of a local political party leader. Although the victim’s family filed a FIR with local police, there were no arrests. Police officers claimed an out-of-court settlement was being arranged, a claim the victim’s family denied. The government did not take any further action by year’s end.

On November 4, a district court in Karachi heard testimony in the March 2008 gang rape case of an 18-year-old woman in the precinct of Mazar-e-Quaid. Three of the alleged perpetrators were arrested, and at year’s end remained in jail awaiting trial.

There were no developments regarding the May 2008 rape case of a seven-year-old girl by two men in Gowalmandi, Lahore. A case against the suspects, one of whom was her uncle, was ongoing at the end of the year.

There were no arrests regarding the August 2008 case in which a group of men kidnapped, raped, and killed a 13-year-old schoolgirl in Rawalpindi.

Police made no arrests in the 2008 case of a woman multiple men kidnapped, raped, and severely burned with acid before killing her in Mandi Bahauddin, Punjab, nor in the 2007 case of a 17-year-old girl four men gang-raped in Shadara Town, Lahore. During the year, there were no developments in the 2007 case of then 16-year-old Nasima Labano, who at least eight men gang-raped as punishment. At year’s end eight suspects remained in jail.

During the year there were no developments in the Supreme Court case brought against the men involved in the 2002 gang rape of Mukhtar Mai. In 2005 the Supreme Court ordered that the five whose original conviction the Lahore High Court overturned be rearrested and held without bail. During the year Mai lived in her village in Punjab with police protection, and the 13 men allegedly involved in the gang rape were in prison.

Domestic violence was a widespread and serious problem. Husbands reportedly beat, and occasionally killed, their wives. Other forms of domestic violence included torture and shaving. In-laws abused and harassed married women. Dowry and family-related disputes often resulted in death or disfigurement by burning or acid.

According to the Aurat Foundation, the cases of violence against women increased 13 percent from the previous year. The Aurat Foundation reported that during the year 1,384 women were killed, 1,987 were abducted, 683 committed suicide, and 928 were raped or gang-raped. Also according to the Aurat Foundation, there were 608 cases of domestic violence, 274 cases of sexual assault, 683 cases of suicide, and 50 cases of stove burning.

According to a 2008 HRCP report, 80 percent of wives in rural Punjab feared violence from their husbands, and nearly 50 percent of wives in developed urban areas admitted that their husbands beat them. The HRCP reported 52 cases of women doused with kerosene and set afire. The Aurat Foundation reported that during the year there were 53 cases of acid attacks, up from 29 in 2008.

Women who tried to report abuse faced serious challenges. Police and judges were reluctant to take action in domestic violence cases, viewing them as family problems. Police, instead of filing charges, usually responded by encouraging the parties to reconcile. Abused women usually were returned to their abusive family members. Women were reluctant to pursue charges because of the stigma attached to divorce and their economic and psychological dependence on relatives. Relatives were hesitant to report abuse for fear of dishonoring the family.

The government operated the Crisis Center for Women in Distress, which referred abused women to NGOs for assistance. There were approximately 70 district-run shelter homes and approximately 250 facilities operating as emergency shelters for women in distress, including female police stations and homes run by provincial social welfare departments and NGOs. The district-run centers provided shelter, access to medical treatment, limited legal representation, and some vocational training.

In some cases women were abused at the government-run shelters.

There were no developments in the 2007 case of the man who allegedly set his 21-year-old wife on fire in Rawalpindi with assistance from his two brothers. At year’s end the case of the two men police had arrested was pending in Rawalpindi District Court.

Honor killings and mutilations occurred throughout the country during the year. The Aurat Foundation reported that during the year there were 604 honor killings.

A 2005 law established penalties for honor killings. Human rights groups criticized the legislation because it allows the victim or the victim’s heirs to negotiate physical or monetary restitution with the perpetrator of the crime in exchange for dropping charges, a law known as “qisas” and “diyat.” Because honor crimes generally occurred within families, perpetrators were able to negotiate nominal payments and avoid more serious punishment.

On April 24, according to media reports, Alia Bibi and Azeemul Haq were shot dead in the Kala Dhaka PATA. The couple had eloped, and a jirga had subsequently condemned them to death. Alpuri police arrested the couple in Shangla on February 26 and released them on bail. Soon thereafter, they were kidnapped and taken to Kala Dhaka, where the jirga enforced the execution order. A government representative said that although he regretted the killing, the jirga system was the only law in the area.

On June 28, according to Dawn, armed men, some in police uniform, attacked the home of a newlywed couple in Charsadda, killing five persons. According to the husband’s relatives, some of the armed men pretended to be policemen, knocked on the door, and shot him. The bride’s relatives then scaled a wall, entered the house, and began firing, killing the bride as well as her husband’s father, mother, and sister. The bride’s family allegedly was upset because the couple had wed against their wishes. The police made no arrests in the case.

On July 27, the Supreme Court settled the March 2008 case of Taslim Solangi, a 17-year-old girl who was allegedly the victim of a jirga-ordered honor killing. According to the AHRC, she was attacked by dogs and then her in-laws killed her. The Supreme Court concluded that no dogs had been unleashed on her.

There were no developments in the July 2008 honor killings of two teenage girls and three women in Baba Kot, Balochistan. After the case prompted media controversy and condemnation by politicians and human rights groups, the federal government and the provincial government initiated an investigation and police arrested seven suspects. At year’s end the case was still pending in court.

Despite bans on handing over women as compensation for crimes committed by rival tribes (also known as “vani” or “swara”), the practice continued in Punjab and the NWFP.

Parliament outlawed forced marriages in 2007, but implementation of the law remained a problem.

The World Bank released a study in 2007 indicating that approximately one-third of marriages in rural areas were “watta satta,” exchange marriages in which men marry each other’s sisters. The study indicated that the reciprocal nature of the practice provided some measure of protection for women. According to the study, “women in watta satta marriages have substantially and significantly lower probabilities of marital estrangement, domestic abuse, and major depressive episodes.” Human rights groups such as the HRCP criticized the practice, noting that “these marriages treat women as a commodity, and tension within one household also affects the other.”

In rural Sindh landowning families continued the practice of “marriage with Koran” to avoid division of property. Property of women married to the Koran remains under the legal control of their father or eldest brother, and such women are prohibited from contact with any male older than 14. These women were expected to stay in the home and not maintain contact with anyone outside of their family.

Prostitution is illegal. Most prostitutes were victims of domestic or international trafficking and were held against their will. Police generally ignored the activity if they received bribes. Police raided brothels during the year but many continued to operate underground, particularly in larger cities.

Sexual harassment was a widespread problem. There was no law to protect women in the workplace. Press reports indicated harassment was especially high among domestic workers and nurses. Although the penal code prohibits harassment, prosecution was rare.

According to AHRC, on May 11 Maheen Usmani, a senior anchorperson for Dunya TV News in Islamabad, allegedly received two late-night phone calls from Yusuf Baig Mirza, the channel’s managing director, in which he made inappropriate comments. Usmani informed the channel’s director of news and chief executive officer, but no action was taken. Usmani claimed she experienced professional setbacks, and on June 15 she resigned from her position, citing “continued harassment, coercion, and highly unethical conduct of the top management of Dunya News.” An internal investigation committee and the National Press Club investigated the claim, but there was no progress by year’s end. Mirza filed two defamation lawsuits against Usmani, who has been approached with offers of money and jobs in exchange for dropping the case.

Couples and individuals had the right to decide the number, spacing, and timing of children, and had the information and means to do so free from discrimination. Young girls and women were especially vulnerable to problems related to sexual and reproductive health and rights. According to the National Committee for Maternal and Neonatal Health, only 30 percent of married women of reproductive age used any contraceptive method, and more than one-quarter of these women used traditional methods that are less effective than modern contraceptives. Few women in rural areas had access to skilled attendance during childbirth, including essential obstetric and postpartum care. Women were less likely than men to be diagnosed and treated for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, but in practice this provision was not enforced. Women faced discrimination in family law, property law, and the judicial system.

Family law provides protections for women in cases of divorce, including requirements for maintenance, and lays out clear guidelines for custody of minor children and their maintenance. Many women were unaware of these legal protections or unable to obtain legal counsel to enforce them. Divorced women often were left with no means of support and their families ostracized them. Although prohibited by law, the practice of buying and selling brides continued in rural areas. Women are legally free to marry without family consent, but women who did so were often ostracized or were the victims of honor crimes.

Inheritance law discriminates against women. Female children are entitled to one-half the inheritance of male children. Wives inherit one-eighth of their husband’s estate. In practice women often received far less than their legal entitlement.

Women faced significant discrimination in employment and were frequently paid less than men for similar work. In many rural areas of the country, strong societal pressure prevented women from working outside the home. Some tribes continued the traditional practice of sequestering women from all contact with males other than relatives.

Numerous women’s rights NGOs such as the Progressive Women’s Association, Sehar, Struggle for Change, War against Rape, and Aurat Foundation were active in urban areas. Their primary concerns included domestic violence and honor crimes.