Domestic abuse in Pakistan is ever more important to address

Domestic abuse is an oft-ignored and accepted part of Pakistani society at this point. Women suffer at the hands of their brothers, fathers and a lot of times, their husbands.

This woman named Asma Aziz just came forward to detail the alleged abuse she has faced day in and day out at the hands of her husband, Mian Faisal.

Asma says she’s been married to Mian Faisal for four years. According to Geo News, it is her second marriage. In a video appeal to the masses, Asma outlined the alleged abuse she usually faced at the hands of her husband. She said that he regularly used to beat her but this time, he went ahead and shaved off all of her hair, which he then burned in front of her.

She stated that he stripped her clothes off and had a male servant pin her down while he shaved off her hair. His friend was also there to witness all of this abuse and played a hand in it. The alleged abuse came after Asma refused to dance for her husband and his friends.

After he allegedly abused her and shaved off her head, he tied her naked to a pole and tried to hang her from the ceiling fan.

The next morning she somehow managed to escape, with not even enough time to put on shoes.

She then went to the nearest police station for help where, she says, her complaint fell on deaf ears. The police officers allegedly asked her to pay them if she wanted them to file a complaint for her. She couldn’t even get medical attention since they demanded her to pay them as well.

Asma stated that she doesn’t even have enough money to eat one roti let alone pay off officials to help register her complaint.

The entire incident she narrates is harrowing to hear about and I cannot even imagine what it must have been like to live through it. After the traumatic incident Asma has had to live through, she can’t even receive help to her get justice against her abusive husband and medical help to treat her wounds. This shows how inadequate services which are supposed to help citizens are.

Asma is requesting for people to help her since she has no family at all as her parents have already passed away. Hopefully, the government will step up and provide remedies to help Asma. But it goes to show that a woman has to appear on national television for her complaint to be heard.

Incidents like this shed light to the importance of addressing issues of gender based violence with careful, considered, educational approach and not rigorous legislation that is carelessly constructed just to score brownie points with the general public. Here’s hoping that the authorities can use this incident as a learning opportunity for everyone, as a society.

Here’s Why Many Victims Of Domestic Violence Don’t Leave Their Abuser

I Was 8 When I Saw My Friend’s Father Try To Kill His Wife And It Opened My Eyes To Domestic Violence

Cover Image Source: geo.tv