http://web.amnesty.org/wire/July2004/PakistanLaw punishes victims of rape in Pakistan
According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, every two hours a woman is raped in Pakistan and every eight hours a woman is subjected to gang rape. The frequency of rape is thought to be much higher but many rapes remain unreported due to a combination of social taboos, discriminatory laws and victimization by the police. Meanwhile, Pakistani law is punishing victims of rape as though they were criminals while the perpetrators go free.
The Hudood Ordinances are a set of laws in Pakistan intended to make the criminal justice system conform with Islamic law. These laws cover offences including Zina crimes (unlawful sexual intercourse including adultery and rape) and Qazf (wrongful accusation of Zina crimes).
The maximum punishment for Zina crimes is death by stoning. Many women are imprisoned for years, convicted or awaiting trial for Zina crimes.
These laws place an almost impossible burden of proof on women and girls who are raped. If they report a rape to the police they are often charged with Zina crimes because they have in effect admitted to sexual intercourse outside of marriage and been unable to prove absence of consent. In such cases, the victims are more likely to be convicted than the perpetrators.
The following story combines several true incidents, to show the plight of women and girls in Pakistan.
Priya, aged 13, was abducted and raped by her neighbour. Her brother found her bruised and unconscious in an alley behind their house. Her father reported the rape at the police station and medical reports confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted. The case was brought before a magistrate.
Priya named her attacker but had no proof of rape other than the medical examination. According to Zina laws, her own testimony is not admissible as evidence. Rape must be proved either by the perpetrator's confession or by the testimony of four men.
Priya's neighbour denied the charges of rape and so she was unable to prove that the act of penetration had been non-consensual.
Having attained puberty a few months earlier, Priya was legally considered an adult. Since the medical examination proved that penetration did occur, the legal tables turned against Priya and she was put in detention on charges of Zina. Her father faced charges of Qazf for reporting the rape and was also detained. The rapist went free.
AI continues to call for the repeal of laws that criminalize consensual sexual intercourse between unmarried adults and a reformulation of those relating to rape, so that victims, both married and single, can obtain justice.