Rape is a very sad reality of the Pakistani society. What makes matters worse is the victim shaming mentality and the shunning of the victim altogether. Many a time, the victim is also forced to marry her rapist just to save the honor of her family. The reason is almost always that the people in our society believe that a woman prompts a man to take such actions – be it their dressing, their work schedules, their chirpy personality, and her freedom of movement. No one asks a man why he took the action; it is only the woman who is put on a pedestal and her character is judged by everyone.
The reason why the problem persists is because we do not want to openly admit the pervasiveness of the issue and are so adamant on protecting the honor of the family, which somehow is only associated to a woman of a family. These problems can only be addressed once we acknowledge and collectively understand how our problem solving skills are engrained in patriarchal thinking.
