Jan 12, 2018, 01.01 PM IST
7-year-old raped & murdered
The rape and murder of the seven-year-old Zainab Ansari has led to massive protests across Pakistan. Citizens, acitvists and leaders are raging over the rise of child abuse cases in the country, while authorities remain in denial over the issue.
Reuters
What happened
Zainab, whose body was discovered in a dumpster in Kasur, went missing on January 4. She was last seen being led by an unidentified hand. A CCTV footage of the two them showed Zainab holding the hand of the man, suspected to have committed the crime.
Reuters
Not the first time
In 2015, Kasur triggered a shock wave across the country as a sex abuse scandal involving nearly 300 minors came to light. It was deemed to be the worst case Pakistan had ever seen so far. The victims, mostly boys, were reported to be sexually abused and their families were blackmailed by an extortion ring that sold their videos and photos.
Reuters
Not a safe haven for women
Sexual abuse is reportedly on the rise in Pakistan. More than 4,000 cases reported in 2016, up 10 percent on the previous year, said a Reuters report while citing data from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
AP
The battle against political apathy
Ansari was the twelfth girl to be abducted, raped and killed in the past year in Kasur district. According to an Indian Express report, as many as 700 similar cases have been reported since 2015 in the same district.
Reuters
What protesters are demanding
More than half a million social media users have rallied around the hashtag #JusticeForZainab to call for action to be taken by the authorities, said a BBC report. There is also a fresh cry to discuss the wider problem of sexual assault and the murder of children.
Reuters
A tense situation
Since yesterday, there have been riots in the town of Kasur. Roads between Lahore and Kasur are blocked. The main hospital in Kasur and a Member of the Provincial Assembly’s house there has been ransacked.
AFP
The late awakening
Pakistan tightened its legislation to protect children in 2016 - criminalising sexual assault, child pornography and trafficking for the first time - after a paedophile ring, circulating pornographic videos, was exposed in Kasur.
AFP
Awareness is key
The horrific incident has led to protesters making a fresh bid to break the silence around sexual abuse. Some are demanding this should be done in schools via change in the academic curriculum. All in all, faith in the establishment seems to have hit a new low in the wake of political and administrative apathy over the issue.
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