Home—a Death-Cum-Torture Cell for Women—in Pakistan
Domestic violence is a global phenomena and thousands of women experience intimate partner violence worldwide.
As per the statistics of World Health Organisation (WHO) globally about 1 in 3 (30%) of women have been subjected to either physical or/and sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.
It says globally 38% of all murders of women are committed by intimate partners.
However, UN Women data revealed that in 2022, approximately 48,800 women and girls worldwide were killed by their intimate partners or other family members.
However, women around the world who face domestic violence part their ways from the abusive husbands.
But, in Pakistan, women have to experience vicious cycle of domestic violence without getting rid of it.
They are being forced to live in a house worse than hell till their death.
Femicide dilemma
In Pakistan around 5,000 women are killed annually from domestic violence.
Ironically, in some families in the country (Pakistan), wives are considered a worthless object. Yeah, an object not a human being. They are being treated worst than animals.
Abusive husbands brutally beat their wives leaving bruises on their bodies, broken bones, maim them or even kill them for a variety of reasons.
Women not only experience the brutality of their husbands but also of their in-laws in Pakistan as several women are being burned to death by their in-laws.
Socio-cultural norms
Social and cultural norms and lack of support of families to the victims of domestic violence force millions of women to suffer silently and await death in a ‘torture cell’ (home).
In Pakistan, married women are advised not to spill the bean about marital life and sweep the problem of domestic violence under the carpet.
When women in order to escape the scourge of domestic violence come to parents house they are being forced to return back to their husbands and suffer the violence.
The lack of supportive behaviour by the parents make women feel helpless and worthless.
There is no escape for women from never-ending gender based violence.
Parents of the women clearly refuse to support their daughters against the domestic violence which encourage the abusive husbands to mistreat their wives.
In Pakistani patriarchal society it is considered a matter of shame if a married daughter leave the house of husband and live with their parents.
Because of protecting the families from not getting into trouble and not becoming a symbol of dishonor women face domestic violence till their last breath.
Breadline
Besides, socio-cultural customs, poverty is also a major factor of forcing married women to live in a house like torture cells.
The uptick level of poverty push parents not to support their daughters and leave them at the mercy of abusive husbands.
In Pakistan, World Bank report 2023 revealed that 95 million people are living in poverty and it’s not possible for them to feed their married daughters and grandsons or/and granddaughters for lifetime.
The parents have to marry off their other children and if they feed their married daughters and her generation then it’ll not be possible for them to marry their other children.
So in order to lessen the mouths to children to feed parents in Pakistan marry off their daughters at an early age and ask their married daughters to bear the dilemma of domestic violence in a hope against hope that everything will be okay with the passage of time.
But, in fact, things get worse with every passing day.
Complex legal procedure
Lengthy and expensive legal cases also pave the way for women to go through the gender based violence. Women and parents instead of involving in prolonged legal battles prefer to silently suffer the menace of domestic violence .
Although, some non-governmental and not-for-profit organisations provide legal support to the victims of domestic violence but the expenditures of frequently coming to courts discourage married women to go for legal battles and flee the violent and abusive husbands and in-laws.
So, they (hapless women) prefer to remain silent and the cost of their silence resulted in the deaths of many women annually in Pakistan.
