Pakistan, world’s third most dangerous country for women – A statement on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Tuesday 24 November 2015, by AHRC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-STM-186-2015
November 24, 2015

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

PAKISTAN: World’s third most dangerous country for women

A statement on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Gender based violence continues to show an upward trend in Pakistan, which has been ranked as the third most dangerous country for women by the Thomson Reuters Foundation Poll. The past four years, with the formation of civil governments, have seen the promulgation of many laws against gender based violence such as honour killings, acid attacks, sexual harassment, as well as property rights of women and exemplary punishments for rapists, women traffickers and perpetrators of domestic violence. The country’s ancient criminal justice system and corrupt, gender biased, and incapable judiciary, particularly at the lower level however, have dismally failed to address or deter violence against women. In fact, Pakistan’s judiciary does not see violence against women to be of great importance, leaving the brunt of the proof of violence/sexual abuse on the victims.

While these laws remain unimplemented, women in the country are facing spectacularly high rates of discrimination and multiple forms of violence, including honor killings, rape, acid throwing, forced conversion to Islam, forced marriages, restriction of freedom of movement, custodial torture, trafficking, domestic violence, dowry violence, abduction, forced prostitution, and enforced disappearances.

Despite the April 2004 decision of the Sindh High Court that clearly ruled all jirgas as illegal and exhorted law enforcement agencies to take effective action against them, Pakistan’s jirgas continue to lead the country in feudal practices contrary to legal and human rights principles. The practice of honour killings for instance, is an atrocious form of violence against women that is committed almost daily within the country. While the jirgas allow and support this practice, it has been almost impossible to take effective legal action against the perpetrators. In a tribal court, witnesses and hearsay are the main forms of evidence and a verdict often rests on the reputation or power of a witness. Women are considered sexually corrupt, and their testimonies are never given any weight. In fact, women are not allowed to participate in jirga proceedings. During a session spectators tend to gather, pick a side and heckle, putting pressure on the decision makers.

Islamic laws such as Diyyat and Qisas also provide strong support to the rapists, killers and abusers of women. Under Islamic law, Diyyat allows for financial compensation to be paid to the victim or heirs of a victim in the cases of murder, bodily harm or property damage. In this way, perpetrators are granted impunity. Diyyat is an alternative punishment to Qisas (equal retaliation). Muslim women victims have typically been compensated at half the rate as Muslim male victims, while non-Muslim compensation rates have varied between 1/16^th to half of a Muslim.

Honor killing and gender based violence has increased by 15 percent according to statistics from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan The police are often unwilling to enforce the law due to the overwhelming social acceptance of the act and the influence of power holders. The 1997 Retribution and Compensation Act allows a victim’s legal heir to close a case at any point in the court, take monetary compensation for the honor killing and pardon the accused. Removing the possibility of compromise, waiver, and compensation between the victim’s family and the perpetrator would make the law more stringent; legally settling the case with a jirga gives the offender a clean chit to perpetuate violence. The state should be empowered to register such cases in court, not the victims’ families.

Such ‘cultural, tribal and religious practices harmful to women, including acid attacks, child and forced marriage and punishment or retribution by stoning or other physical abuse’, was cited by the Thomson Reuters Foundation Poll as the reason for Pakistan’s ranking as the third most dangerous country to women, after Afghanistan and Congo. The report also stated that 90 percent of women in Pakistan face domestic violence. The Sindh provincial police registered 1,261 cases of kidnapping of women for forced marriages in 2014. There were 114 cases of acid attacks in Pakistan, involving 159 victims. While the proposed Acid and Burn Crime Bill 2014 aims to curb and criminalize the act, but to be truly effective it also needs to be combined with legislation that imposes strict controls and checks on the sale and distribution of acid.

The murder of 25-year-old Ms. Farzana Iqbal, three months pregnant, on 27 May 2014 by her angry family members is a classic example of how patriarchy has engulfed the collective psyche of the entire nation [1]. On a busy street outside the Lahore High Court, Farzana was bludgeoned to death with bricks, as she was marrying a man without her family’s consent. Farzana had arrived at the Court to defend her husband Mohammed on charges of her abduction brought by her family. The police witnesses reportedly did nothing to stop the savage beating. The case sparked an international outrage, and in November 2014, the Lahore High Court pronounced the death penalty for the four accused indicted in her honor killing.

Although her father was not involved in her stoning, he surrendered himself to the police and confessed that he was involved. The purpose was intentional; after being tried in court, he would compromise with his sons to settle the issue under Diyyat. Exposing his intentions, civil society and the media forced the police and government to prosecute them.

Another such case is that of a police officer orchestrating the killing of his daughter, Arifa Babbur, 21, in the name of honour for economic gain through a jirga. The murder was facilitated by three brothers: one is in charge of a police station, the second is a notorious criminal wanted in several cases of murder, rape, and robbery, and the third is the father-in-law of the victim. Before her murder, while in illegal detention, Arifa telephoned a human rights activist, telling her that she is set to be murdered any time today. A total of 30 bullets were fired, 22 of which hit Arifa’s body, while the rest hit the walls of the room where she was detained for five days.

The police from two districts have tried to deny the incident but with the intervention of rights activists and ranking police officers, the conspiracy has unraveled. The father and other murderers had planned to implicate a university student for having an illicit relationship with his daughter, so that they can get property, cash and a minor girl in compensation from the student’s family through a Jirga.

A session court’s judge has disassociated himself from the case after receiving threats inside the court. A Sindh High Court bench has granted protective bail to the father of the murdered woman in the month of July, which still continues to apply illegally (see http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-140-2015).

The Constitution of Pakistan guarantees women equal rights and status, but customs and social norms dictate otherwise. Under Articles 25, 34 and 35 the Constitution guarantees women of Pakistan that their rights will be protected, but the state remains a silent spectator when a woman is brutally murdered on the pretext of honor. The general attitude of “Zan, Zar, Zameen” (woman, money and land) as the source of all evil”, reflects an utter disregard for women and her commoditization.

The recent 18^th amendment to the Constitution has granted greater autonomy to the provinces in matters related to the advancement of women. As with other social sectors in Pakistan however, the perennial problem of policy implementation has also plagued this sector. Without implementation, laws such as Muslim family Laws Ordinance (MFLO) of 1961, Dowry and Bridal Gifts Restriction Act, 1976, Protection of Women Act (2006), Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace, Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection), Act 2012 do little to improve the status of women.

Pakistan’s women continue to suffer the effect of customs and practices that deem women as chattel or property to be treated as their owner wishes. The state must play an active role in implementing laws to ensure that women in Pakistan are able to lead a dignified and empowered life that is the basic fundamental right of every human being. To begin, the Government of Pakistan must take immediate and effective steps to implement the 2004 decision of the Sindh High Court eliminating jirgas. Without these measures, Pakistan will continue to be dangerous for its women, allowing them neither justice nor basic rights.

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

PAKISTAN: Police officers facilitate murder of a young woman in a barbaric honour killing

November 20, 2015

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-141-2015

20 November 2015

Police officers facilitate murder of a young woman in a barbaric honour killing

ISSUES: Violence against women, honour killing, illegal detention, extrajudicial killings, judiciary

Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding a police officer having orchestrated the killing of his own daughter, Arifa Babbur, 21, in the name of honour to get property, cash, and a minor girl in compensation through a jirga, an illegal parallel judicial system. The murder has been facilitated by three brothers: one is in charge of a police station, the second is a notorious criminal wanted in several cases of murder, rape, and robbery, and the third one is the father-in-law of the victim.

Before her murder, while in illegal detention, Arifa telephoned a lady human rights activist, telling her that she is set to be murdered any time today, as her father had told her to recite Quranic verses, as the day would be the last day for her life. A total of 30 bullets were fired, out of which 22 hit Arifa’s body, and rest hit the walls of the room where she was kept in illegal detention for five days.

The police from two districts have tried to deny the incident but with the intervention of rights activists and ranking police officers, the conspiracy has unraveled. A session court’s judge has disassociated himself from the case after receiving threats inside the court. A Sindh High Court bench has granted protective bail to the father of the murdered woman in the month of July, which still continues to apply illegally.

CASE NARRATIVE:

Three brothers: Ghulam Abbas Babbur (Police Officer), Ali Nawaz Babbur, and Ali Sher Babbur (the father-in-law), have been living in three houses built within the same compound. Ali Nawaz Babbur is notorious criminal in Dadu District, Sindh Province, and is wanted in 10 cases for murder, robbery, and land grabbing by force. The victim Arifa Babbur was married to her first cousin, Mr. Ali Hasan, son of Ali Sher Babbur. Ali Hasan had been living in a Madrassa of a saint, at Karachi, 200 kilometers away, and had not been gainfully employed. The police officer, Inspector Ghulam Abbas, is known in the area to be a greedy man and as a specialist in extrajudicial killings.

The whole family, including the women of the family, had been suspecting that Arifa had inclinations towards a young student of Jam Shoro University, Mr. Manthar, and this was used as an excuse to eliminate her.

The plan of the family was to bracket the victim with Manthar, for having an illicit relationship, and kill her. Following the murder the plan was to call a jirga of the local tribe, to get property, cash, and a minor girl in compensation. It was decided, according to the victim’s aunt, that property would be given to her father, while the father-in-law would get the cash amount, and the minor girl in compensation would be handed over the notorious robber, to be married to his eldest son, who is mentally disabled, someone who cannot use the toilet without assistance.

According to information collected by ranking police officials, on 10 July 2015, the 21-year-old Ms. Arifa Babbur, resident of Jam Shoro District, Sindh Province, daughter of Ghulam Abbas Babur, the Station House Officer (SHO) of City Police Station, Dadu District, was murdered by her uncle, Mr. Ali Nawaz Babbur, a notorious robber, who killed his niece along with his henchmen. They did the shooting in the presence of her father, who came all the way from Dadu District, where he was in charge of a police station, so that the operation could be swiftly conducted, without interference from the local police.

Her father locked Arifa in her room at her in law’s house in Jamshoro District for five days. This was to confess that she had illicit relationship with Mr. Manthar, so that this could then be used an as excuse for killing in the name of “honour”, and to get compensation through the jirga.

One of Arifa’s aunts, the sister of her father, whose husband was also killed by Ali Nawaz for not marrying their daughter to his mentally disabled son, telephoned her, and asked her to contact one human rights activist, Ms. Bushra Sayed, CEO of Ajrak Welfare Organisation, who is well known for helping women victims of violence.

Arifa called Bushra and told her that she will be killed today (10 July 2015), as her police officer father had come with many criminals and asked her to recite verses from the Quran, the holiest book of Islam. Arifa also said that she had been detained in a room for five days. The human rights activist told her to contact the police help line, 15, and get help.

The victim told Bushra that the officer-in-charge of the Jam Shoro Police Station, Sub Inspector Allah Bachayo, is a good friend to her father, and he is well aware of all these things, so she cannot get any help from him. Bushra advised Arifa to run away, by jumping from her second floor building, and taking any vehicle headed for Karachi, from where she would help in every way. But, suddenly, the cell phone was switched off, and Bushra wondered if the battery of the cell phone had emptied. Next day, Bushra contacted Arifa again on her cell phone. This time it was picked up by another lady, who informed Bushra that the victim was shot and murdered the previous night and in the late hours she was buried in a local graveyard.

Arifa body received 22 bullets whereas eight bullet shots missed the target and hit the walls of the room. The incident occurred at her her father-in-law’s house, where she had been detained. It is alleged that when Arifa died, after being hit by two or three bullets, her father, Sub Inspector Ghulam Abbas Babbur, instructed the shooters to empty all the guns.

The house where the shooting occurred is not far away from the Jam Shoro Police Station but no one wondered about the sound of a rain of bullets, and the crying of women and children.

Activist Bushra immediately telephoned the SHO, Sub Inspector Allah Bachayo of Jam Shoro Police Station, inquiring about the murder and burial of Arifa in the late hours. The officer accused her of hallucinating and told her that no such incident has happened. The SHO argued with her that if she has the dead body of the victim, then she should produce it, and only then would the police will file a case. Bushra Sayed then contacted Deputy Inspector General (DIG) police, Hyderabad Range, Mr. Khadim Hussain Rind, and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Mr. Tariq Willayat, who took immediate action and suspended SHO Bachayo from the post.

Bushra also contacted a famous human rights activist, Ms. Amar Sindhu, to ask her to reach the spot. Her presence changed the situation. In the meantime, the SSP also arrived and forced the police to file a First Information Report (FIR).

The police have taken in to custody one younger brother, Nadeem, one of the perpetrators, who informed the police about the details of the whole incident and took the police to point out where Arifa’s body lay buried. The police found pieces of the body in polyethylene bags.

On the instruction of the DIG, a case of murder and illegal detention was filed on behalf of the court. The main perpetrator, Ali Nawaz, was arrested, along with his five henchmen. Father of the victim, SHO Ghulam Abbas, immediately took protective bail from the High Court bench of Hyderabad. According to the law, protective bail is granted for very small time, to facilitate the accused person to be presented before the court. But, the judicial system is so fragile that it remains under pressure from law enforcement agencies. The SHO is still under protective bail today. He has pleaded before the court that at the time of the murder, he was not in the city.

The SHO of Dadu Police Station, the father of the victim, today, continues to operate freely, and using notorious criminals, he threatens and intimidates judges and lawyers, and human rights activists. The judge of the Sessions Court of Jam Shoro has disassociated himself from the case, after receiving threats also for his family members.

The human rights activists, Bushra Sayed and Amar Sindhu are continuously receiving threats to their lives. A lady lawyer, Ms. Zarina Nawaz also began receiving threats and she disassociated herself from the case as well. Following the threats Zarina filed an application with the District & Sessions judge of Jam Shoro. And, a direction was issued for the protection of the female Advocate. However, the SSP did not take any action

The investigations conducted by the police have been purposely slowed down to spread the terror of the police. Arifa’s father is moving freely and intimidating the people of the area. At the time of submitting the final investigation report, the police officer placed 5 accused in Column 2 (i.e. innocent, not having committed an offence).

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write the letters to the following authorities so inquiry can be conducted and that all accused persons can be prosecuted, particularly Sub Inspector Ghulam Abbas, who has used his powerful position to facilitate the murder of his own daughter. The father of the victim Ghulam Abbas, and former SHO of Jam Shoro Police Station, Sub Inspector Allah Bachayo, must be arrested for their involvement in the murder of Arifa. The inquiry must also be conducted to probe the reasons why a postmortem was not conducted before Arifa’s burial and also about the incidence of extrajudicial killings allegedly committed by the SHO of Dadu police. He entire staff team in Dadu police station must be terminated from his post, otherwise the chance of a fair investigation is unlikely. Stop the police to change the FIR by converting it into column 2 to proof the all accused are innocent and no witness is available, which is a common practice of the police to save their brothers in uniform.

The AHRC is writing a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Question of Violence against Women calling for his intervention into this matter.

To support this case, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ………………..,

PAKISTAN: Police officers facilitate murder of a young woman in a barbaric honour killing

Name of victims:

1. Ms. Arifa Babbur, 21, daughter of Ghulam Abbas Babur, Station House Officer of City Police Station Dadu District, resident of Jam Shoro District, Sindh Province.
2. Ms. Bushra Sayed, Human Rights activist and CEO of Ajrak Welfare Organisation, Karachi, receiving life death from perpetrators, Sindh
3. Ms. Zarina Nawaz Advocate, receiving life death from perpetrators, Karachi, Sindh
4. Ms. Amar Sindh, human right activist, resident of Hyderabad, Sindh, receing death threats from perpetrator

Names of alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Ghulam Abbas Babbur, Sub Inspector of police and station house officer (SHO), city thana Dadu and father of the victim, district Dadu, Sindh
2. Allah Bachayo, Sub Inspector of Police and former SHO of Jam Shoro police station, district Jam Shoro, Sindh
3. Ali Nawaz Babbur, uncle of the victim and notorious criminal of the Dadu district, Dadu, Sindh
4. Ali Sher Babbur, father in law of the victim, resident of Dadu district, Sindh

Date of incident: July 10, 2015
Place of incident: In the jurisdiction of Jam Shoro police station, Sindh

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding a police officer manipulated the killing of his own daughter, Arifa Babbur, 21, in the name of honour to get property, cash, and a minor girl in compensation through a jirga, an illegal parallel judicial system. The murder has been facilitated by three brothers: one is in charge of a police station, the second is a notorious criminal wanted in several cases of murder, rape, and robbery, and the third one is the father-in-law of the victim.

According to the information I received through police, media and human rights activists that three brothers: Ghulam Abbas Babbur (Police Officer), Ali Nawaz Babbur, and Ali Sher Babbur (the father-in-law), have been living in three houses built within the same compound. Ali Nawaz Babbur is notorious criminal in Dadu District, Sindh Province, and is wanted in 10 cases for murder, robbery, and land grabbing by force. The victim Arifa Babbur was married to her first cousin, Mr. Ali Hasan, son of Ali Sher Babbur. Ali Hasan had been living in a Madrassa of a saint, at Karachi, 200 kilometers away, and had not been gainfully employed. The police officer, Inspector Ghulam Abbas, is known in the area to be a greedy man and as a specialist in extrajudicial killings.

The plan of the family was to bracket the victim with Mr. Manthar, for having an illicit relationship, and kill her. Following the murder the plan was to call a jirga of the local tribe, to get property, cash, and a minor girl in compensation. It was decided, according to the victim’s aunt, that property would be given to her father, while the father-in-law would get the cash amount, and the minor girl in compensation would be handed over the notorious robber, to be married to his eldest son, who is mentally disabled, someone who cannot use the toilet without assistance.

I was informed by high ranking police officials that, on 10 July 2015, the 21-year-old Ms. Arifa Babbur, resident of Jam Shoro District, Sindh Province, daughter of Ghulam Abbas Babur, the Station House Officer (SHO) of City Police Station, Dadu District, was murdered by her uncle, Mr. Ali Nawaz Babbur, a notorious robber, who killed his niece along with his henchmen. They did the shooting in the presence of her father, who came all the way from Dadu District, where he was in charge of a police station, so that the operation could be swiftly conducted, without interference from the local police.

I was shocked to know that her father, a police officer, locked Arifa in her room at her in law’s house in Jamshoro District for five days. This was to confess that she had illicit relationship with Mr. Manthar, so that this could then be used an as excuse for killing in the name of “honour”, and to get compensation through the jirga.

I vehemently condemned that how brutal the police officers in dealing with the women. Arifa’s body received 22 bullets whereas eight bullet shots missed the target and hit the walls of the room. The incident occurred at her her father-in-law’s house, where she had been detained. It is alleged that when Arifa died, after being hit by two or three bullets, her father, Sub Inspector Ghulam Abbas Babbur, instructed the shooters to empty all the guns.

The house where the shooting occurred is not far away from the Jam Shoro Police Station but no one wondered about the sound of a rain of bullets, and the crying of women and children.

Bushra Syed also contacted a famous human rights activist, Ms. Amar Sindhu, to ask her to reach the spot. Her presence changed the situation. In the meantime, the SSP also arrived and forced the police to file a First Information Report (FIR).

I was appalled by the act of police officers that perpetrators are threating to women activists from the jail. The human rights activists, Bushra Sayed and Amar Sindhu are continuously receiving threats to their lives. A lady lawyer, Ms. Zarina Nawaz also began receiving threats and she disassociated herself from the case as well. Following the threats Zarina filed an application with the District & Sessions judge of Jam Shoro. And, a direction was issued for the protection of the female Advocate. However, the SSP did not take any action

I therefore, call upon you to hold a high official inquiry, not from the police department, be conducted and that all accused persons must be prosecuted, particularly Sub Inspector Ghulam Abbas, who has used his powerful position to facilitate the murder of his own daughter.

The inquiry must also be conducted to probe the reasons why a postmortem was not conducted before Arifa’s burial and also about the incidence of extrajudicial killings allegedly committed by the SHO of Dadu police. Further, the human rights activists and lawyers must be provided with security.

Yours Sincerely,

……………….

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1.Mr. Mian Nawaz Sharif
Prime Minister
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1596
Tel: +92 51 920 6111
E-mail: secretary cabinet.gov.pk, pspm pmsectt.gov.pk

2. Mr. Syed Qaim Ali Shah
Chief Minister of Sindh
The Government of Sindh Province
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 920 2000
Email: pressecy cmsindh.gov.pk

3. Mr. Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan
Minister
Ministry of Interior of Pakistan
R Block, Pak Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 51 9212026
Fax: +92 51 9202624

4. Mr. Sohail Anwar Khan Siyal
Minister for Home
Government of Sindh
Barrack 79, Pakistan Secretariat
Near MPA hostel
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9204456
Tel: +92 21 9201920-1
E-mail: secy.home sindh.gov.pk
5. Mr. Tahir Shahbaz
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 9213452
Email: mail supremecourt.gov.pk
6. Chief Justice of Sindh High Court
High Court Building
Saddar, Karachi
Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9213220
E-mail: info sindhhighcourt.gov.pk
7. Justice (Rtd) MajidaRazvi
Chairperson, Human Rights Development
Government of Sindh
Barrack number 92 Sindh Secretariat
4. B, opposite to Sindh Assembly Building
Karachi
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 21 99207042-43
Fax: +92 21 99207044
E-mail: ministerhrd sindh.gov.pk

8. Mr. Ghulam Haider Jamali
Inspector General of Police, Sindh province
Police Head quarter I.I Chundigar road
Karachi-PAKISTAN
Fax-+92-21-99212051
complaints pprasindh.gov.pk

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua ahrc.asia)

Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières

Pakistan, world’s third most dangerous country for women – A statement on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Police officers facilitate murder of a young woman in a barbaric honour killing

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