Pakistani government fails to protect women
By ALEXANDRA ZAVIS
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The Pakistani government is failing to protect women from violence including rape, acid attacks, burning and killing, an international human rights group said Wednesday.

Violence at home, in police custody and in society at large is widespread in Pakistan, the London-based Amnesty International said in its fifth report on women’s rights in the country.

Very poor women, women from religious minorities and women forced to pay off debts through indentured service are particularly vulnerable to abuse, Amnesty said.

The report acknowledged that the government of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has made numerous pledges to protect women’s rights. However, Amnesty said the statements have had limited impact and little has changed in recent years.

Pakistan’s minister for human rights, Khalid Ranjah, conceded that violence against women remains a problem despite the introduction of harsh sentences — including in at least one case, the death penalty.

“Our problem is there is a conflict between our laws and people’s attitudes,” he said.

He questioned, however, the scale of the problem, saying the most extreme kinds of violence are primarily found in traditional, rural communities.

Amnesty said so-called honor killings of women continue to be reported daily, while few are ever convicted of the crime. Among others, Amnesty cited a January 2001 case in which a woman, her three daughters and two sons were all axed to death by the woman’s husband because he suspected her of adultery.

There is also an emerging trend of “fake honor killings,” in which men accuse their wives of dishonorable behavior to extort money from wealthy men. In such cases, the woman is usually killed, while the man accused of misconduct is required to pay off the husband and be pardoned, Amnesty said.

The government has also done little to restrict the sale of acid or to punish those who use it to injure women, Amnesty said. While acid burns rarely kill, they result in serious disfigurement and suffering, frequently confining women to their homes.

“Few women make official complaints, and those that do are often dismissed and sent back to their abusive husbands,” the group said in a statement.

Despite promises of reform, Amnesty said police continue to intimidate, torture, harass and humiliate women in custody to extract money and information. Rape is also widespread, it said.

While slavery is illegal in Pakistan, girls and women are still traded to settle debts and conflicts, the group said. In some parts of the country, they are openly sold in markets, it said.

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