Domestic violence

E-Paper | March 01, 2026

A FEW years back a survey on 216 women was conducted by the Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, and a staggering 96.76 per cent (209/216) admitted to having been subjected to abuse, ranging from hitting and shouting to being threatened by gun or knife.

Even though the scope was limited, covering only the twin cities, more astounding: 108 (51.7 per cent) reportedly did not respond in any way and merely suffered the violence and its attendant consequences in silence.

Furthermore, according to the most conservative estimate by Human Development in South Asia, Lahore, there is an average of 16 cases of bride burnings a month, with most of the victims belonging to poor families.

Women are sufferers and are subjected to physical, psychological and sexual abuse in their home by partners, in-laws and in some circumstances by their brothers and parents too.

The factors associated with domestic violence in Pakistan are low status of women economically, lack of awareness about women’s rights, false beliefs, imbalanced empowerment issues between males and females, male dominating social structure and lack of support from the government.

UMER BIN AJMAL Karachi

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Jalbani Baloch

Apr 25, 2012 09:12am

Domestic violence is very common in Pakistan, and it is equally prevalent both in rural and urban areas. Women and children are mostly the victims of this domestic violence, and vast majority of perpetrators is of men who reach such a level of rage that they are not deterred by the thought of punishment. Consequently , the domestic violence is continuing without any check or restraint. Those in authority can be generally blamed for this lawlessness, but the society cannot also not be vindicated from its responsibility to promote good values and social practices at family levels. Further, the Govt., in addition to making strict laws, may raise awareness about domestic level starting from schooling in Pakistan.

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A-1

Apr 25, 2012 04:05am

96.76 percent? that is staggering enough to be real, and that too out of only 216 women - considering the ratio of female population. By the way, are there any other details such as the details of the group of females (social strata, locality, etc,) who were interviewed? You would expect a fair representation in the sample of women from every group of life, as overexaggeration would only add to our problems as well as our already shakily presented image to the world

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Fuzail Z. Ahmad

Apr 25, 2012 12:24pm

I believe it is not women but in general, the weaker ones in households. Women relatives setting on fire wife of their son and/or brother is an example. Pakistani populace is mostly tribal in nature, and our mindsets exhibit this factor. Education and non-tribal lineage enables people to avoid or shed this mindset.

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