LAHORE: The sexual assault of a woman by a mob of 400 men at the Greater Iqbal Park near Minar-i-Pakistan on Independence Day has once again brought to the fore how widespread violence against women is. And these incidents are a daily occurrence, while many go unreported for various reasons.

The latest case has once again triggered a debate – in private gatherings, on social media and TV airwaves – regarding women’s safety in public and private spaces.

Some members of the public are outraged, some feel exhausted expressing outrage in the wake of every case every other day, some feel the need to keep the discussion alive to raise an awareness about women’s rights.

A protest attended by hundreds of people was organised in front of Minar-i-Pakistan on Saturday to denounce the recent spate of sexual violence against women, including the one on the woman TikToker, after several videos of assaults went viral on social media.

The gathering was attended by activists, labourers, transgender persons and people from other walks of life. While some participants were sharing their experiences of harassment, a group of young men laughed at and mocked them. When some demonstrators tried to drive the unruly crowd away, it led to a heated exchange.

Near the protest gathering, tasers and pepper spray were also being sold by young entrepreneurs in a bid to help women avert any harassment.

Annie, one of the participants, believed such demonstrations were important because when the system fails the people, they take to the streets. “It’s triggering and heartbreaking.”

She believed that in such circumstances there can be no tourism or foreign investment because people travelled to places they could enjoy with their families without any fear.

Sumbal, another protester, said she was exhausted because such incidents were happening every other day and every time the victim was blamed -- by not just men, but women also. “Even here at the protest also, there were men laughing when some victims were sharing their experiences, they were smiling sarcastically, a lot of people were just taking pictures and passing uncomfortable comments.”

Each time sexual violence is reported, there is a section of society, both men and women included, whose sole response is to question the victim, blame her for the gender-based violence she’s endured, peddle fake news and social media posts -- without any verification. When hashtags such as #AllMen trend, there’s always a counter: #NotAllMen. This highlights how the women’s rights movement is constantly faced with stiff resistance from various quarters.

Sumbal said while discussing victim-blaming it’s the men who’re mostly talked about, but people forget that women are equally responsible. “We’re all equal products of this patriarchal society. Mothers don’t question their sons no matter how late they come home, but daughters even if returning from work are asked why they’re late. A woman perpetuates patriarchy from within a household that then becomes part of society.”While multiple videos of sexual assaults on women were being shared widely on social media, journalist and documentary filmmaker Sabin Agha took to twitter on Saturday to recall in a series of tweets how she was attacked while reporting from the Mazar-i-Quaid in Karachi on Aug 14 a few years ago. “Some 100 odd frustrated boys & men attacked me & my cameraman at Mazar Quaid. My cameraman and his camera were shoved back & forth/ but I was manhandled. I was groped on every part of my body. My hair were pulled from back & both sides. My cloths & duppatta wer pulled by men,” she wrote in a tweet.

She said she was saved when someone pulled her out of the mob after which she went up to the police van standing at the mausoleum’s doorstep. “I asked them y did they not come to help. Police response: ‘bibi hum 4 hay aur wo150…Ap ayee kiyun,” read another tweet.

According to the HRCP’s ‘State of Human Rights 2020’ study based on media reports, 189 cases of honour killings were recorded in Punjab in 2020 involving 226 victims -- 37 male and 189 female. Of the 1,133 cases of sexual violence reported in the province, 753 involved women victims.

As per Punjab police data quoted in the HRCP report, the authorities filed 3,773 cases of rape in 2020 involving both men and women, 219 of gang-rape, 237 honour killings, 576 domestic violence and 59 acid throwing.

Activist Nayab Gohar Jan explains why victim blaming is so rampant. “There are many layers of this phenomenon at the heart of which is patriarchy. If we unfold the layers then the most important thing is that one makes excuses for the perpetrator rather than understanding the situation. Mostly, it happens in cases when a victim isn’t an ‘ideal woman’ as the society has imagined her to be. After an assault, if it’s seen that the parameters set by society for women are ‘breached’ it’s a control mechanism to tell the woman that ‘I told you u so’.”

She goes on to say that this doesn’t mean women who don’t fall within the parameters set by society are any safer. “Today, a victim is blamed to tell her that you breached the place we have set for you. People don’t want to accept that the fault lies with the perpetrator who’s always a man; nobody accepts that patriarchy lies at the heart of it all. [Activists] have to explain repeatedly that even a burqa-clad woman can be and is harassed.”

She feels that everyone in authority from the prime minister, police chief, religious leaders to all opinion makers have to make clear-cut statements to avoid victim blaming.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2021