Content warning: depictions of rape and assault
It was just a regular Wednesday morning, I had gotten up from bed to take my class as usual. As part of my regular routine, I scrolled through my social media as I was getting something to eat. Something unusual was happening. There was a dark tone in everyone’s words across Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram. The hashtag #MotorwayIncident was trending all over social media (highways are usually called motorways in Pakistan). I was super confused as I had no idea what was going on. I decided to look further into it, only to realize there was yet another incident of sexual assault reported in Pakistan. As a person who grew up in Pakistan and spent most of my childhood there, this literally hit home. It hurt that these incidents were becoming more frequent, to the point where I was kind of getting immune to hearing about rape, and I hated that feeling.
However, for this particular incident as I kept reading about it, tears started welling up in my eyes. I could not believe that an act so heinous actually happened. A mother of two was gang-raped in front of her children as she stopped to get gas on a highway in the middle of the night. It was horrible enough that this happened to that mother, but in front of her kids. I cannot even begin to comprehend what she must have felt as she was molested over and over again. And to even think about what the children must have been feeling, as they saw the incident unfold in front of their eyes, is almost impossible. They probably did not even understand what exactly was happening since they were so young. The mother must have been so scared and even more scared for the safety of her children as she experienced it. I could not stop the tears from cascading down my cheeks as I couldn’t help but imagine myself instead of her. I simply would not have been able to survive that.
But she did. She was able to get up, compose herself for the sake of her children and drive to the nearest police station in hopes of finding help but still, I am sure, in a state of shock. However, upon arrival, when she explained her story to an officer, the only thing he could say to her was, “why were you even travelling alone at night?” Hearing those dismissing remarks made my blood boil. I already couldn’t imagine how much power and strength the mother had to even go report the crime right after, and then to face these questions by the authorities that are supposed to protect her? The nerve of the police officers to blame the victim when she had just suffered abuse was beyond me.
I was enraged just like everyone else in Pakistan. However, this time it was not just women speaking out for women. It was men defending women, it was children, it was celebrities and even the Prime Minister. It was finally the time when Pakistan decided that enough was enough. We could not take this anymore, and things needed to be fixed. It was after various protests all over the country that the Prime Minister made a public statement about chemically castrating rapists. That was the first law that was put in place against sex offenders, and for me, I saw it as the first step towards a safer country. It might not be enough and there might be implementation issues, but it was better than nothing, and when that law became public, I was a proud Pakistani. As a woman and as a Pakistani, this was a little victory that could bring about huge changes.
Image Credit: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54186609
