Pakistani rights activists have accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of “baffling ignorance” after the excerpt related how women dress to increase rape cases. In a weekend interview on live television, Oxford-educated Khan said an increase in rapes indicated the “consequences in any society where vulgarity increases.”
BK Bangash / AP
“Incidents of rape of women … (have) increased very rapidly in society,” she said.
He advised women to cover themselves to avoid temptation.
“This whole concept of purdah is to avoid temptation, not everyone has the will to avoid it,” he said, using a term that can refer to modest dress or gender segregation.
Hundreds have signed a statement circulating online Wednesday calling Khan’s comments “incorrect, insensitive and dangerous facts.”
“The fault lies solely with the rapist and the system that allows him, including a culture fostered by statements such as those made by Khan (“).
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent human rights watchdog, said Tuesday he was “dismayed” by the comments.
“This not only betrays a bewildering ignorance of where, why and how rape occurs, but also blames rape survivors, who, as the government should know, can range from young children to victims of rape. honor crimes, ”he said. .
The Karachi chapter of the Women’s Action Forum he asked Khan to apologize for his “insensitive and harmful remarks.”
Pakistan is a deeply conservative country where victims of sexual abuse are often viewed with suspicion and criminal complaints are rarely seriously investigated.
Much of the country lives under a “code of honor” where women who bring “shame” into the family can be subjected to violence or murder.
It regularly ranks among the worst places in the world when it comes to gender equality.
Protests erupted across the country last year when a police chief warned a rape victim in a group that he was driving at night without a partner. The Franco-Pakistani mother was assaulted in front of her children next to a highway after her car ran out of gas.
After this incident, Khan demanded that the rapists be publicly hanged or castrated for their crimes.
Last year, Khan was also criticized after another television appearance where he did not challenge the insistence of a Muslim clergyman that the coronavirus had been triggered due to the misdeeds of women.
The latest controversy comes as the organizers of International Women’s Day march against what they have called a coordinated disinformation campaign against them, including documented images and videos distributed online.
It has led to accusations of blasphemy – a very sensitive issue in Pakistan, where allegations have previously led people to attack people.
The organizers of the annual rally have called for the intervention of the Prime Minister.
In his television appearance over the weekend, Khan also blamed divorce rates in Britain for the culture of “sex, drugs and rock and roll” that began in the 1970s, when Khan, divorced two sometimes, he earned a reputation as a playboy in London.