KARACHI- At least 1601 women were killed in Pakistan in the name of honor or for other reasons in 2013. According to data provided by the Madadgar National Helpline Founder Zia Ahmed Awan, at least 370 women were raped while 185 incidents of gang-rape were reported across the country. He said that 2133 women were tortured during the same year while 887 faced torture by police. Similarly, 608 women were abducted, some 406 were forcefully married which included 176 cases of Vani.
He said that 217 women were killed after being raped, 220 of them were killed after being accused of Karo-kari, 1164 women were killed for unknown reasons while 452 committed suicide. Awan added that 193 women were burnt alive, 205 were smuggled and 220 ran away from their houses for different reasons. He said that at least 6516 incidents of crime against women were reported including 2602 in Punjab, 1883 in Sindh, 1181 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhua, and 864 in Balochistan.
He said that the given figures were compiled from different news reports and clients coming to the helpline for help. No such data about crimes against women was available with ministries at provincial and federal level.
He claimed that the given data had only some 10 percent of the incidents in Pakistan. Women who faced such situations were not able to register their cases with police due to their behavior, he said adding that women who face torture in marriage were reluctant to register criminal cases and only insist on divorce. He said that Pakistan could not progress until 51 percent of the population of the country is given its due respect and rights.