Callousness towards rape

Rape cases deserve to be covered thoroughly so that rapists think twice before committing such an act.

Mahnoor Sherazee December 23, 2010
Perhaps the intensity of my anger towards rape and rapists is linked to my gender. If this were true, I am certainly not the only woman living in Pakistan, by that rationale at least half the population, if not more, should be as livid as I am.

The treatment meted out by some members of the media, as well as politicians and the police towards the ‘alleged’ rape of a woman in her mid 30s in Karachi was appalling.

So perhaps the reason why I’m so enraged is because I live in a developing country where feudalism and the feudal mentality lives on as forcefully as it did decades ago; after all the influential always discredit the innocent (until proved otherwise of course).

Whether or not the rapists are affiliated with a political party, or even if the woman in question belongs to a profession of ‘unjustifiable morality’, gives no one the right to subject her (or anyone else in a similar situation) to such barbaric violence.

To be honest, I don’t know who is innocent and who is guilty in this case, nor is it my job to decide that.

My job is to get all sides of the story and report as best as I can the facts; not who thinks what, nor rely on rumours and develop a biased view.

What needs to be done is to give the victim a fair hearing. She does not deserve to be judged or called “rude” or be spoken of in a derogatory manner; especially after a medico legal officer had confirmed the rape.

Since this incident was such a hot topic on the news most of Monday night, my friend told me he didn’t believe this case “deserved the attention it got”. My only response was, “what does then?”

Even if this woman turns out to be a fraud, at the very least it should make other offenders think twice before committing such an act knowing that the media, with its rough edges, is there to keep a watch on them even if the police and politicians aren’t.

WRITTEN BY:
Mahnoor Sherazee A reporter for the Karachi pages of The Express Tribune.
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (3)

Mulla Toofhan | 13 years ago | Reply Miss Mahnoor, Well written article!!!
Maria Lucia | 13 years ago | Reply This sad news not only enraged women in Pakistan but in other parts of the world as well. And I don't think it's even linked with anyone's gender. It is a barbaric act. What made me more enraged about this incident there in Karachi is the way it's being treated not only by the media but also by some people who are supposed to think and speak better than the rest of the population because they are better educated and more respected. But no. They are talking about the victim, what they say she is made of, as if trying to find an excuse for the incident. I feel so sorry that people think this way. Let not everyone forget that there was a crime committed. And it was rape. It was something done to a person and it was against her free will. People should focus on that.
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