Human Rights Watch said in its report released in 2014 that “Violence against women and girls – including rape, honour killings, acid attacks, domestic violence, and forced marriage all remain serious problems in Pakistan. Also, from forced conversions of Hindu and Christian girls, violence against women, and crimes against gender minorities, to enforced disappearances, curbs on freedom of expression, and stifling of dissent, Pakistan witnessed extreme cases of substantial violations of human rights throughout the year 2021.
Embezzlement of Human Rights in Pakistan
Pakistan being a democratic country is tremendously facing certain bumps and hurdles in the past because of military interruption. It is causing the people of Pakistan to unleash their civil rights especially the minorities Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhist and many others. The Pakistan government is sub-consciously depressing human rights in terms of freedom of expression, freedom of religion, the plight of minorities, women and girls abuse, etc.
The Pakistan government does not want the world to know their dirty tricks showering on their fellow citizens. They had tightened the control on the media and media workers. So therefore, Pakistan’s media operates in a climate of fear that impedes coverage of abuse by both government security forces and extremist armed groups. Media outlets are under pressure from authorities against criticizing the government. In some cases, they blocked the cable operators from broadcasting. GEO TV, a private television channel was forced off the air or had its audience’s access restricted as punishment for editorials criticizing the government. Journalists are being captured and tortured by letting the world know the spiteful truth of the Pakistan government. Henceforth, where is the Freedom of expression? It is more like suppressing the truth.
The Pakistani government is dominating the other religion. As Pakistan is an Islamic country just this fact makes non- Muslims below Muslims. Worst is blasphemy law that gets used against non- Muslims often. This law which provides only vague definitions of offence and require no evidence other than the accusation of one person, is regularly misused by extremists to target minorities. Recommendations to repeal or bring blasphemy law in line with the ICCPR have, therefore, not been implemented. Pakistan got nearly 3 million Hindus and 1 million Sikhs at the time of partition from India. Now Hindus are only a few Lakhs and Sikhs nearly a lakh. By constant persecution by the Pakistani people with full backing of the government. To them, only Sunny Muslims are bonafide citizens of Pakistan. Funny thing is that the world should have noticed that Article 20 of the Pakistan constitution provides a worrying description of the individual’s rights to freely practice a religion, starting with the restriction that may be imposed on the rights such as blasphemy law. Pakistan, therefore violates basic principles of international human rights, protection and has made no effort whatsoever to comply with numerous states’ recommendations.
The Pakistan government failed to protect the women and girls. The slogan ‘my body, my choice’ became the rallying cry for the growing women movement in Pakistan. The problem faced by Pakistani women in her daily life is the lack of access to basic needs like education and better health facilities, domestic violence including verbal abuse, honor killing ,acid attack, harassment at workplaces, victim of various unislamic custom and the most important one that is economic dependent on male partner because of misconceptions of staying at home. In Pakistan women and girls are treated as a sex slavery. They are abused by the opposite sex. It was estimated that about 1,000 honor killings every year. A report by the Movement for solidarity and peace in Pakistan found that at least 1,000 girls belonging to Christian and Hindu communities are forced to marry Muslim men every year.
Child sexual abuse remains disturbingly common in Pakistan. At least 77 girls and 79 boys were raped or sexually assaulted in the first half of 2017, but none of the suspects had been convicted at time of writing and all had been released on bail. The government is turning a blind eye regarding the human violation against women and girls.
Sexual orientation and gender identity also have a great crisis in Pakistan. At least 65 transgender women have been killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province since 2015. Society is spitting and looking down on them. They are physically and verbally abused. Parliament passed a comprehensive transgender rights bill in 2018. However, Pakistan’s penal code criminalizes same -sex sexual conduct, placing men who have sex with men and transgender women at risk of police abuse and other violence and discrimination.
In Pakistan, it is the Military’s top brass who is responsible for all the ills. It has been enjoying the most lavish lifestyle creating a corrupt lot of subservient politicians and looting the country all-in-cahoots! They have not been protecting the country for the people but for themselves as their treasure -trove! The Tehrik-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) AL Qaeda and their affiliated carried out suicide bombings and other indiscriminate attacks against security personnel that caused hundreds of civilians’ deaths and injuries during the year. Further enabled by the Anti- Terrorism Gilgit Baltistan’s population is stripped of its communicative freedoms, the case of Baba Jan, a progressive youth leader and regional politician of Gilgit-Balistan ,who in 2014 was sentenced to life imprisonment by in Anti-Terrorism court along with eleven other human rights defenders, illustrates the Pakistani Government’s non-implementation of state recommendation to adhere to international law when applying the country’s Anti-terrorism laws. Pakistan does genocide in Baluchistan and Pashtun provinces. What does it mean? Pakistan is a terrorist country on earth. It trains and exports terrorists around the world and it has no meaning and rights to talk about human rights.
In conclusion, this article has discussed the key areas of human violation in Pakistan. The Pakistani Government failed to protect the judicial rights of the citizens. The people of Pakistan need to step up and work together as one because it was them who elected the Government officials. The whole world needs to know what is actually happening in Pakistan and should not turn a blind eye and help the poor souls of our brothers and sisters residing in Pakistan. If we the people are together fighting for their rights, we can give Pakistan the right to access human rights in future.
Degree of Thought is a weekly community column initiated by Tetso College in partnership with The Morung Express. Degree of Thought will delve into the social, cultural, political and educational issues around us. The views expressed here do not reflect the opinion of the institution. Tetso College is a NAAC Accredited UGC recognised Commerce and Arts College. The editors are Dr Hewasa Lorin, Dr. Aniruddha Babar, Aienla A, Rinsit B Sareo, Meren Lemtur and Kvulo Lorin.
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