Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in under fire after declaring women’s dressing practices and public postures as reasons for inviting sexual violence.
In a June 20 interview with Axios on HBO, Khan blamed women’s clothing for rising sexual assault cases in the country.
“If a woman is wearing very few clothes, it will have an impact on men unless they are robots. It’s just common sense,” he said.
His remarks sparked outrage on social media. Khan made similar remarks in April during a question-and-answer session with the public. He said that the rise in sexual violence in Pakistan, particularly against children, was due to fahashi (vulgarity).
The Joint Action Committee for People’s Rights (JAC), a coalition of rights groups and journalist unions, condemned “these misogynous remarks” in an emergency meeting on June 23.
“These remarks have further strengthened the centuries-old, traditional, conservative mindset blaming victims for inciting sexual harassment and violence from aggressors. These remarks also depict the typical mindset of feudal, patriarchal and anti-women behavior that has persisted in our society for generations. Ironically these remarks have come from a person holding the dignified and respectable office of prime minister,” the JAC stated in a press release.
We not only reject those words but demand an immediate public apology and resignation from the prime minister
“Making such remarks is not an unconscious utterance of anti-women words but part of deliberate and conscious efforts to impose a conservative agenda on the people of Pakistan. We not only reject those words but demand an immediate public apology and resignation from the prime minister, who has brought bad repute to the country and disrespect to very tolerant, civilized and sensitive citizens, especially women, of our society.”
The JAC is planning to organize protest rallies in all major cities urging the PM to take back his words and issue an immediate public apology.
On June 20, Lahore police arrested 70-year-old Mufti Aziz-ur-Rehman, the Lahore deputy chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, for molesting a seminary student. He was booked on sexual assault charges after the student released footage of the incident.
Earlier this week, a vulgar video of cleric Abdul Qavi went viral on social media. Qavi was seen naked while masturbating in a room. He ends the video while giving kisses.
Last month Christians in Karachi protested after a 10-year-old Christian girl suffered a rape attempt by one of her Muslim neighbors in a Christian settlement in the southern port city.
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