Can Maryam Nawaz make Punjab safe for children and women?

Now that Punjab has a woman as the new Chief Minister, will children and women be more safe?

Maryam Nawaz would do well to pay attention to the horrific statistics coming out of Punjab. Every day, 12 women are raped and a large number of children are abused in Punjab.

Last year, more than 4200 children suffered various types of abuse across the country, almost 11 children a day, according to an annual report released by an NGO, Sahil. A year before that, a similar number of children were raped, assaulted, taken hostage, used for pornography and incest.

A gender analysis of the figures showed that over half of the victims were girls, over 2250. The most vulnerable are in the age group of 6 to 15. There are cases of even children below one. Maximum number of abuses were reported from Punjab, followed by Sindh and other provinces and regions. Experts believe that the horrible statistics was largely due to the absence of any action from the state.

In Chakwal district, an incident of mass rape of male students in a seminary shook the country. At least 15 minor male students were allegedly raped by two teachers.

Punjab tops the provinces for a deeply distressing rise in violence against women. As many as 21,900 women were raped in Punjab in just four years, an average of 12 women assaulted daily or one woman every two hours. In 2022, the province had declared a `rape emergency` due to an extraordinarily high rate of rapes across the province. The province marked a 16% increase in violence against women during 2023. Faisalabad is today the epicentre of violence against women in the country. About 728 cases were reported last year, according to the Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO).

There was an alarming rise in cases of kidnapping, with 626 reported cases in Punjab. The worst-hit areas included Lahore (136), Faisalabad (30), and Vehari (26). Honour killings remained a grim reality, with 120 cases reported, and Rahim Yar Khan (9), Jhang (8), and Rajanpur (8) emerged as the most affected areas.

Sindh follows closely in terms of the number of such cases. There is one reported case of abuse of women in Sindh every day. These cases range from rape, kidnapping, and honour killings. Last year, Sindh alone witnessed 10,201 cases, marking a disturbing 16 per cent increase from the 8,787 cases documented in 2022. In the metropolitan city of Karachi, domestic violence has been phenomenal, with 3,649 cases in 2022 alone.

In Sindh, the police report showed an alarming increase in incidents across various categories. In 2023, an average of 26 women were kidnapped every week, a significant increase from the figures in 2022. Similarly, rape cases in 2023 saw an average of four women per week, surpassing the previous  year’s numbers. Shockingly, an average of 13 women per month lost their lives in honour killings in 2023. Comparing 2023 to 2022, the figures showed an increase in honour killings (136 to 96), kidnapping cases (1,500 to 1,349), and domestic violence cases (350 to 346).

The question is will women and children feel safe in Punjab on Maryam Nawaz’s watch? These are the recorded cases; only Allah knows about the unreported/ unrecorded cases, especially if one would like to count the atrocities committed over minority communities.