WEB DESK
A large number of Pakistanis took to the streets in different cities on Saturday to demanding justice and structural reform after the shocking gang rape on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway a few days ago.
The organisers of the Aurat March protests — in Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar and Karachi — set forth five demands including an end to violence, affirmative steps by the government to uphold rights and ensure justice, accountability of Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Umer Sheikh and any other official who blames the victim, structural and procedural reforms and effective and transparent investigations by the criminal justice system.
The charter of demands included implementation of legislation related to criminal offences such as rape and the protection of transgender persons, banning the two-finger test and providing additional resources and training for reporting, investigation and prosecution of crimes pertaining to sexual violence.
It also demanded that all public spaces be made safe for women, gender-sensitive curricula be introduced and government spending on women’s health, education and safety be increased.
Motorway Gang rape incident
According to reports, a woman in her early 30s, a resident of Lahore’s Defence Housing Society, was stuck on the motorway with her two children at around 1am after her car ran out of petrol. As she tried to arrange for help, two men approached her and took her and her children (under eight) into the nearby fields at gunpoint.
Once in the field, the attackers raped the woman in front of her children. By the time a police party and a relative the woman had called reached the scene, the attackers had fled, taking with them the cash and valuables the victim was carrying with her.
As the investigation into the incident started, there were reports that the victim had called on the helpline of Motorway Police, but she was denied assistance because the area in question was not covered by the Pakistan National Highway and Motorway Police.