Women in Pakistan continue to suffer from violence in different forms, as tells the Daily Times in its October 13, 2008, edition. Acts of violence against women include killing, rape, and abduction, not to mention the physical torture and emotional abuse that is much more prevalent in the domestic lives of many Pakistani families but goes largely unreported.

In his article published in the Daily Times, Amar Guriro specifically mentions the alarming statistics of violence against women in the Sindh province of Pakistan. Over 1460 cases of violence against the second sex were reported in various parts of Sindh between January and September this year. Of these more than 200 women were murdered, another 220 killed under the so-called ‘Karo-Kiri’ – a form of honor killing – more than 100 women raped (including gang-rape cases), over 70 kidnapped, and a few women were sold as slaves. These statistics are horrible, especially when considered as only the reported cases; much more goes unreported in order to save the face (and often the life) of the victims.

Amir Guriro’s article briefly touched on women committing suicide in response to physical/emotional abuse. This usually happens at home or in the family. Most prevalent in other parts of the country are the honor killings. These occur when a young woman refuses to follow an arranged marriage and/or dares marry someone without the consent of her family.

The male members of the woman then consider it a social obligation to kill the woman and cleanse the ‘disgrace’. Such killing usually goes unreported to the police as the whole family (especially males) is accomplice in the crime. In some cases, male members of the family eagerly await for a pretext to kill their family’s women who might claim their share in the property. Some cases of honor-killing are considered fishy even by the close relatives of the deceased.

Violence against women is prevalent in all parts of Pakistan but more so in areas where the feudal system is strongly rooted and education has not found a solid footing. In the more well-off and educated classes, the incidence of violence against women is low, though not non-existent.