Pakistan’s Gender Violence Dilemma 

Bakhtawar Ahmed

Karachi: Pakistan has started a new chapter in its politics after the 2024 general elections. But the country is facing tough times with big problems like unstable economy and politics, lots of people without jobs, prices going up, and especially violence against women.

Marvi Awan, a women’s rights activist in Sindh province, is leading a small team to help women live better lives. They are working to bring peace and unity between different communities, giving important information to leaders to make good decisions, and sensitizing communities about the increase in violence against women.

Marvi Awan, founder of Women Protection Centre WPC-Sindh,  a non-profit organization, talked to The PenPk.com about how she gathers information about violence against women and the difficulties she encountered along the way.

Awan also claims that she has a unique model, which collaborates with the Sindh police to collect authentic data.

She is saying, “We receive first-hand information about domestic abuse and GBV cases from the police and local community members. My organization worked manually and used software to collect authentic data on these cases for further studies and policy-making.”“For our work, it was very important to have data to prepare strategies to combat GBV in Pakistan,” she explained.

Awan said that her organization started collecting data manually because there are parts of Sindh province where there is a lack of resources and awareness regarding the issue.

“It [data collection] involves the geographical selection of an area where we conduct surveys to capture the prevalence and impact of GBV on women.

After gathering information, the next step involves transforming data into digital format to keep it safe and segregated for further studies and strategy making,” Awan explained the data collection method.

Being a gender trainer and GBV victim counselor, Awan highlighted the importance of the protection of the identity of survivors.

“We train our staff and volunteers to protect the identities of the survivors. Responsible officers and staff dealing with GBV survivors are given proper SOPs and follow-up to provide survivors with a safe and secure environment,” she emphasized.

“This commitment to confidentiality builds trust among survivors, ensuring their complaints are heard and handled with care,” she the women rights activist noted, adding that “while change is slow, it is indeed underway”.

Regarding challenges her team faces during data collection, she said, “Several influential people threatened us and tried to stop us from our aim to protect women and weaker communities in the province.”

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“I have faced harassment both physically and online during my journey. But I and my organization continued to support the survivors, help them in their vulnerable situations, and educate them about their rights,” she lamented.

Awan’s Women Protection Cell in Sindh is known as a safe space for women to report crimes by establishing secure units in collaboration with the police. However, she also noted that ground realities differ from those presented in national surveys and reports.

 “We urgently need to collect data more systematically at the government level to present a clearer picture and combat GBV in the country,” the women rights activist emphasized.

Surge in Gender Violence?

According to data from various government and non-government sources, including the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Aurat Foundation, and the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey, cases of GBV have increased over the years.

In 2009, there was a 13 percent increase in the total number of cases compared to the previous year, with Punjab reporting the highest number of cases and Sindh following closely behind.

However, several reports highlight that GBV is majorly underreported in provinces like Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan due to societal and cultural pressures.

Delving into further details, it has been observed that a lack of data records of GBV cases also plays a crucial role in planning strategies and policy-making to address this issue.

Data Gap Hinders

In Pakistan, data on GBV is collected through various means, including surveys, police records, and reports from NGOs and media outlets. Journalists also play a crucial role in documenting cases.

Sharing in-depth details on data collection, Syed Mazin Yousaf, a seasoned journalist from Multan, detailed his experience in covering GBV stories and crime reports.

He said, “When collecting information about violence or other related issues, we [journalists] contact the victims first or their immediate family. The cases are reported after we contact the survivor’s family and collect any medical document or police FIR regarding the incident.”

The Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2012–2013 reports that 32 percent of women have experienced physical violence in Pakistan, and 40 percent of ever-married women have suffered from spousal abuse at some point in their lives.

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The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reports that 14.5 percent of women and girls in Pakistan have experienced intimate partner violence, highlighting the critical nature of this issue. The UNFPA reports further confirm that the PDHS statistics do not accurately represent the full extent of cases.

In other words, one in two Pakistani women who have experienced violence never sought help or told anyone about the violence they had experienced.

The disparity in numbers and cases recorded in surveys conducted by government and non-government organizations highlights the urgent need for systemic reforms in collecting data across the country to effectively address the issue.

Safety Concerns

The protection and safety of GBV data and survivors’ identities also remain a challenge in the country due to limited resources, insufficient support systems, and societal norms that hinder the process of addressing abuse in society.

While several laws exist to fight gender-based violence, the low conviction rate highlights gaps in the legal system and poor implementation of these laws.

Providing a legal perspective on the issue, Khwaja Imran, senior advocate at the Sindh High Court, explained why fewer GBV cases are reported to the police.

“The survivors, who suffer the trauma of abuse, are forced by their families and communities to remain silent,” Advocate Imran explained.

Imran, who has been practicing human rights cases for nearly two decades, further shared, “We have laws to prevent violence and crimes against women, but the implementation is very poor.”

He named a few laws, including the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2004, the Protection for Women (Criminal Law Amendment) Act, 2006, and the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Amendment) Bill, 2022, and said that “women still face taboos when fighting for their rights and reporting crimes against them.”

Expressing his disappointment in the legal system and societal perspective, Imran noted that “the lack of authentic data on GBV and domestic abuse cases will only promote more violence against vulnerable communities in society.”

GBV remains a critical issue globally, with Pakistan facing significant challenges in addressing and developing policy solutions for this issue.

As the fifth-most populous country, Pakistan’s position on the Global Gender Gap Index is a stark reminder of the urgent need to address GBV within its borders and establish a system to protect survivors and their identities.

While collecting accurate and reliable data on GBV is crucial for developing effective policies and interventions in the country, ensuring the safety and integrity of this data is equally important.

On the government level, strong legal frameworks and policies must be designed to regulate the collection, use, and sharing of GBV data while also ensuring the privacy and confidentiality of survivors and data collectors.

All information and facts provided are the sole responsibility of the writer.

Bakhtawar Ahmed is a Karachi-based freelance journalist. She can be reached at bakhtawarahmed03@gmail.com