When WAR first started out in 1989, it operated mainly
as a pressure group. Being a brainchild of Women’s Action
Forum (WAF) to combat injustices meted out to women in the
form of rape and sexual harassment, WAR became (and remains)
the only organization all over Pakistan dealing with the issues
of rape other forms of sexual abuse specifically.
In the yesteryears, one could find WAR in the press with an
outstanding regularity. One favored form of putting pressure
on the government and those who abused authority to suppress
women was putting items in the newspapers and elsewhere, to
strongly protest against the rising trend of abuse of women.
One of these abuses was in the form of the intolerably cruel
Hudood Ordinances. Galvanizing the power of the press, WAR
took on the task of religiously opposing the Ordinances with
full force, a battle that is on going.
In
the links below, one can find information on how WAR used
the fettered press to wage a war against the most tragic laws
ever to grace the statute of the Pakistan.
Demand
for transfer of rape case to Karachi
Source: "Daily DAWN"
Date: June 07, 2008 |
KARACHI:
Members of civil society on Friday urged the relevant
authorities to refer the Kainat Soomro gang-rape case,
which had been transferred to Dadu, back to Karachi.
Speaking at a press conference held at the Karachi Press
Club, representatives of various civil society organisations
said that since the accused in the case were quite influential,
the rape victim and her poor family members fearing for
their lives had left Dadu and were currently residing
in Karachi.
The press conference was jointly organised by the War
Against Rape, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Women
Action Forum and Aurat Foundation. They said that in such
a life-threatening situation, it was impossible for these
poor people to attend the hearings in the case in a Dadu
court. Read
full story... |
Women’s
Police Stations remain victims of neglect and official
apathy
By Aroosa Masroor
Source: "The News"
Date: May 02, 2008 |
KARACHI:
In 1994, when former premier (late) Benazir Bhutto introduced
the first women police station in Artillery Ground Police
Station Karachi, its objective was to facilitate victims
of gender violence and address reluctance of women to
approach male-dominated police stations to lodge their
complaints. With the passage of time, however, Ms Bhutto’s
initiative has failed to meet its goals as succeeding
governments remained disinterested in improving the
working conditions of female constables. This led to
the deterioration of the entire infrastructure and souring
of a very good idea which would have helped women immensely.
Read
full story... |
DNA
evidence ties suspect to rape
By Aroosa Masroor
Source: "The News"
Date: April 11, 2008 |
KARACHI:
The DNA report of accused Syed Khadim Hussain involved
in the gang-rape of the 19-year-old married woman at
the Quaid’s mausoleum was proved positive on Thursday,
according to investigators who received the report from
KRL Hospital, Islamabad on Thursday afternoon. “We
received the DNA report of accused Khadim Hussain from
the laboratory in KRL Hospital Islamabad, which was
positive,” SSP investigation, Niaz Ahmed Khoso,
told The News. He added that the reports of three possible
suspects have also been sent to Islamabad, whose results
are awaited. Khoso termed this a major breakthrough
for investigation as the scientific evidence is tangible.
The testing of a DNA sample (that otherwise costs over
Rs25,000) was conducted free of charge in this case,
added Khoso. Khadim Hussain’s DNA was matched
against the semen recovered from the married woman who
reported being raped at the Mazaar on the evening of
March 15 by five men, three of whom, she claims, she
could not identify “because it was too dark and
she was heavily drugged.” Khadim is one of the
two men she identified during an identification parade
before the court. On being questioned why the DNA sample
was sent to a laboratory in Islamabad and not Lahore,
whose chemical examination reports, insist MLOs, are
considered more authentic, Khoso said the investigation
team considered reports from the KRL laboratory authentic
as well. Since there are no chemical examination labs
at the police surgeon’s office in Karachi, the
DNA samples have to be sent to Lahore, said Sarah Zaman,
coordinator War Against Rape (WAR). Read
full story... |
Human
Rights office functioning sans rights and resources
By Aroosa Masroor
Source: "The News"
Date: March 30, 2008 |
KARACHI:
The regional office of human rights in Sindh located
in Karachi – on Court Road — is unable to
function effectively because the department does not
have independent powers to take measures for the prevention
of the violation of human rights, The News has learnt.
The office has been functioning as an extended arm of
the Federal Ministry of Human Rights as it does not
have sufficient funds to pursue a case in the province.
Read
full story... |
Remand
of gang rape accused extended till 31st
Source: "The News"
Date: March 29, 2008 |
KARACHI:
The Judicial Magistrate, East, Javed Hussain, further
extended the remand of accused Khadim Hussain involved
in the gang rape of an 18-year old women at the Mazar-e-Quaid
till March 31.
The Investigation Officer (IO), Sabir Hussain, told
the court that that since investigations were on for
the arrest other four persons involved in the incident,
further remand should be given so that factual situation
could be submitted to the court.
The court asked the IO as to what delayed the investigation,
to which he replied that the delay was the result of
the entire episode being twisted by the arrested accused
and creating problems by giving phoney evidence. Read
full story... |
Denying
her right to justice
By Razeshta Sethna
Source: "The News"
Date: March 26, 2008 |
KARACHI:
Violent crimes against women and children in Pakistan
continue with impunity as rape remains the most taboo
human rights violation and therefore, the least reported.
Victims hesitate to file a first information report
against perpetrators and this trend has not changed
much through the last decade, despite growing awareness
about crimes against women: this is simply because women
victims themselves fall prey and are not able to get
justice through the judicial system. Current laws pertaining
to rape do not assist victims, but in fact it can take
years for cases to be decided and these delays work
in favour of those perpetrators who are frequently set
free.
When a formal complaint is lodged with the police, the
woman is made to suffer insensitive and harrowing investigations
and open-court trials during which she is often asked
humiliating questions, since the majority of those involved
-- lawyers and the police -- fail to understand the
situation and display hostile rather than sympathetic
attitudes towards the victims. Read
full story... |
PPP
MPAs, NGO jostle for custody outside court
By Shamim Bano
Source: "The News"
Date: March 23, 2008 |
KARACHI:
An unusual rush was witnessed in the court of Judicial
Magistrate (JM) East on Saturday, when the accused Khadim
Hussain and victim Razia Kubra of the Mazar-e-Quaid
rape case were produced before the court. A number of
PPP women MPAs along with party workers were calling
for the accused to be hanged to death while shouting
slogans of ‘Jeay Bhutto.’
Shehla Raza, a newly-elected MPA from the PPP women’s
quota, said that, on receiving information of the incident,
she immediately rushed to the Imambargah to get custody
of the victim, who was allegedly gang raped by some
five to six persons. At this stage, she also said that
one of the NGOs, War Against Rape (WAR), tried to grab
the victim to gain some ulterior motives, she claimed.
Read
full story... |
HRCP
condemns gang rape at mausoleum of Quaid-i-Azam
Source: "Business Recorder"
Date: March 21, 2008 |
KARACHI:
In a joint statement issued to the press, Iqbal Haider,
Secretary General, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
(HRCP) and Zohra Yusuf, Vice Chairperson, HRCP has strongly
condemned the abduction, gang rape and humiliation of
a 19 years old newly-wed woman of Lodhran, on the premises
of the mausoleum of the founder of Pakistan.
They also condemned the harassment of the representatives
of War Against Rape (WAR) at the Resident Engineer's
office, Bagh-e-Quaid, by a group of people, during an
identification process of a gang-rape case registered
at the Brigade Police Station.. Read
full story... |
Quaid
mausoleum gang-rape case botched
Victim goes missing again after identifying one assailant
Source: "The News"
Date: March 20, 2008 |
KARACHI:
The 19-year-old girl who went missing on March 15 and
was allegedly gang-raped by five employees of the Quaid’s
Mausoleum for 36 hours, again went missing after identifying
one of the assailants during the identification process
on Tuesday night (March 18).
The victim identified the accused, Syed Khadim Hussain
Shah, during the identification process at the office
of the Resident Engineer, who supervises the employees
at the mausoleum.
The girl who, until Tuesday evening, was residing at
a shelter home arranged by War Against Rape (WAR) has
now gone missing. Read
full story... |
Rape
case muddied by claims of 3 parties
Source: "Daily Times"
Date: March 20, 2008 |
KARACHI:
The alleged gang rape case of a newly married woman,
who was visiting Quaid-e-Azam’s mazaar from the Punjab
on March 16, has developed into a war of words between
the police, NGO War Against Rape, the Pakistan People’s
Party and her family, with each issuing separate statements
and stories.
The case was registered at the Brigade Police Station
last Sunday, March 16. On Wednesday, March 19, her husband,
FH accused the police of covering up for the culprits.
He alleged that his father-in-law, who had lodged an
FIR over the abduction of his wife, had gone missing
and that the police were involved in his mysterious
disappearance.
FH made these allegations at a press conference at the
Peoples Secretariat. PPP MPA Shehla Reza arranged for
a meeting between the survivor and the PPP’s nominated
candidate for chief minister Qaim Ali Shah. The woman
was clad in a black burqa. She said that the staff of
the mausoleum’s park should also be considered involved.
For its part, NGO War Against Rape (WAR) issued a press
release Wednesday, alleging that its team was assaulted
by members of a religious organization at the Resident
Engineer’s Office at the mazaar, when they were trying
to help the woman identify her rapists. Read
full story... |
Girl
sexually assaulted at Quaid’s Mausoleum
Source: "The News"
Date: March 19, 2008 |
KARACHI:
A 19-year-old girl, a first time visitor to the Quaid’s
Mausoleum, was subjected to sexual assault in the premises
of the mausoleum where she was held captive for 36 hours,
reported War Against Rape (WAR) on Tuesday. The incident
occurred on the night of March 15, as the teenage girl
went missing after a power breakdown at the mausoleum,
which the authorities claim is “exempted from load shedding”
because it is a national monument. She was recovered
on Monday. Read
full story... |
Time
limit urged for settling of rape cases
By Bhagwandas
Source: "Daily DAWN"
Date: January 06, 2008 |
KARACHI:
Civil society and non-governmental organisations have
demanded that the government formulate laws prescribing
a time limit of six months during which courts must
decide rape cases, since protracted hearings not only
intensify the victims’ suffering but also work in favour
of the accused. Read
full story... |
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