Pakistan’s rights activists accuse Prime Minister Imran Khan of ‘staggering ignorance’ after the former cricketer blamed women for raping her.
In a weekend interview on live television, Oxford-trained Khan said an increase in rapes indicates the “consequences in any society where vulgarity is on the rise”.
“The incidents of rape of women … [have] actually increased very rapidly in society, ”he said.
He advised women to cover up to avoid temptation. ‘This whole concept of purdah is to avoid temptation. Not everyone has the willpower to avoid it, ” he said, using a term that could refer to modest dress or gender segregation.
Hundreds signed a statement on Wednesday calling Khan’s comments “factually incorrect, insensitive and dangerous”. “Fault rests solely with the rapist and the system that enables the rapist, including a culture that is promoted by statements such as by [Khan], “it says.
The Pakistan Human Rights Commission, an independent watchdog, said it was “upset” over the comments. “It not only betrays a staggering ignorance of where, why and how rape occurs, but it also places the blame on survivors of rape, which, as the government should know, can range from young children to victims of honor crimes, he said.
Pakistan is a deeply conservative country where victims of sexual abuse are often viewed with suspicion and criminal charges are rarely seriously investigated.
A large part of the country lives according to an ‘honor’ code where women who bring shame on the family can be subjected to violence or murder. It regularly ranks among the worst places in the world for gender equality.
Nationwide protests erupted last year when a police chief reprimanded a victim of gang rape for driving at night without a male companion.
The French-Pakistani woman was assaulted in front of her children on the side of a highway after her car ran out of fuel.
Last year, Khan was also criticized after another television appearance in which he did not dispute the Muslim cleric’s insistence that coronavirus was released due to the wrongdoing of women.
The latest dispute comes as the organizers behind the International Women’s Day march are waging a coordinated disinformation campaign against them, including doctored images and videos being circulated online.
This has led to accusations of blasphemy – an extremely sensitive issue in Pakistan, where allegations earlier led to crowds attacking people.
The organizers of the annual rally called on the prime minister to intervene.
In his weekend TV appearance, Khan also blamed the divorce figures in Britain for the “sex, drugs and rock’n’roll” culture that began in the 1970s, when the two divorced Khan gained a reputation in London has as a playboy.