Four women were disrobed, tortured, and paraded through a Faisalabad bazaar in broad daylight by a group of men who suspected them of shoplifting in a terrible example of patriarchal brutality.
At the Millat Town police station, a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against four suspects:
- Saddam, the owner of Usman Electric Store, and his employee.
- Faisal, Zaheer Anwar, and Faqeer Hussain, the owner of a sanitary products’ shop.
- 10 unidentified suspects on behalf of one of the victims.
The terrible attack was documented on distressing video recordings that went viral, showing a group of men descending on ladies while they scream for mercy. The terrifying footage shows the terrified women walking through the streets with nothing but a piece of fabric barely covering their bodies.
The women, including one minor, were seen appealing to the others around them for a piece of fabric to cover themselves after being stripped naked, but they were thrashed with sticks instead.
The complainant, a garbage collector, stated in the FIR that she went to Bawa Chak Market with three other ladies on Monday at about 10:30 a.m. to collect garbage.
She walked inside a shop and asked the owner for a bottle of water after telling the cops that they were thirsty. The owner, however, began yelling at them, accusing them of breaking into his shop with the purpose to steal, according to the FIR, which also stated that more suspects arrived at the shop after hearing him yelling.
The FIR quoted the complainant as saying. “They continued to beat us for around an hour and made our videos in naked condition.”
The complainant said in the FIR, “The suspects committed gross injustice by stripping us, dragging us through the market, and torturing us and strict action should be taken against them.”
Many people gathered in the area and were successful in freeing the victims.
Saddam, Faisal, Zaheer Anwar, and Faqir Hussain, the store’s owner, have been arrested and a case has been filed against them under sections 354 A-509-147-149 TP.
The remaining suspects are being apprehended in raids.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar requested a report on the event from the RPO of Faisalabad and directed the authority to take action against the perpetrators.
A human rights lawyer said the horrific incident and the impunity with which it was carried out was “symptomatic of cracks within the country’s spotty law enforcement.”
One of the fundamental causes of the current situation, according to Nighat, is the state’s indifference. “By just enacting and celebrating legislation, the state appears to absolve itself of duty,” she said, adding that it was past time for the state to actually intervene and close loopholes in the application of these laws.
She claimed the state was “emboldening” such forces, citing the state’s “failure” to protect fundamental rights granted by the constitution.
The shocking scenes of violence against women incite outrage, as the nation reels from the spine-chilling mob lynching of a Sri Lankan national in Sialkot on blasphemy charges.
On Twitter, journalist Iftikhar Firdous expressed his displeasure. “In Faisalabad, women are stripped naked and assaulted for allegedly participating in a roadside heist. Something has gone horribly wrong in this country!”
Reem Khurshid, a journalist, voiced alarm about the extent to which violence against women had spread across the country.
