KARACHI: Members of Shura Hamdard Karachi unanimously called for swift action against those culprits who were involved in the sexual assault on a woman at Minar-i-Pakistan in Lahore, says a press release.

A monthly meeting of Shura Hamdard Karachi was held online via Zoom titled ‘Rise in Assaults against Women, Causes and Prevention’.

Speaker Shura Hamdard Karachi retired Justice Haziq-ul-Khairi presided over the meeting.

Ms Sadia Rashid, president of Shura Hamdard, attended the meeting from Hamdard’s corporate head office.

Guest speaker, social worker Nargis Wahab Rehman said: “The sudden rise in physical assaults against women in Pakistan raises serious questions about the sanctity of our society. These violent incidents indicate a serious problem of patriarchal mindset which has been prevalent in the country for many years. Pakistan is among the lowest scoring countries in the world when it comes to talk about Women Development Index. The tragedy of Minar-i-Pakistan exposed the true state of affairs of our society.”

The police must be held accountable as to why they failed to protect that girl in time, she added.

Anwar Siddiqui said: “It is time to admit that our society is ill. We have to find the root cause of this misogyny and take concrete steps including swift justice, women empowerment and strict law enforcement. The fear of law is now needed more than ever.”

Shamim Kazmi said: “This is a dangerous trend that women suffer physical assaults in public now. The criminal mindset backed by ignorance and illiteracy has made it more difficult for anyone to challenge this wrong narrative against women.”

Tanveer Khalid said: “Honourable Supreme Court should take suo motu notice [of] the Minar-i-Pakistan case. The government should introduce various initiatives to empower women on all levels. Booklets on women’s rights should be distributed in the general public to create awareness.”

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2021