Islamabad – The country is going to mark March 8 (today) as International Women’s Day but it is really pathetic that 9,670 women have been killed only in Punjab for honour killings and property disputes for the last five years.
A recent report by Human Rights Commission on the eve of International Women’s Day, Sunday, carries some horrific statistics about women rights violations throughout Pakistan. Out of 9,670 women, immediate relatives including husbands, brothers, fathers and others killed 1,638 ladies. About 8,041 women were killed due to property and other such issues. About 3,379 women were killed for not bringing dowry with them and asking for their rights.
They were either killed by setting them on fire or by acid throwing, while hundreds of women who are facing Karokari, other such honour killings and infamous Hudood Ordinance charges in the jails of the country are still to be heard, Press United to Serve Humanity (PUSH), a Pakistan-based non-profit, non-governmental and non-sectarian consortium of journalists working for freedom of Press and protection of human rights, has quoted in the Human Rights Commission Report in a statement.
March 8 is designated to celebrate the economic, social and political achievements of women throughout the world. The day is celebrated the world over including Pakistan vowing to strive for the protection of women rights and applaud women’s efforts and achievements in this regards.
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(Submitted by Abdul Hamid Bashani Khan)