Pakistan: violations of women/children increasing - Women and Violence - Brief Article

WIN News, Spring, 2002

UN WIRE; January 10, 2002

"Human rights violations against women and children continue to rise in Pakistan, according to a new report by a Pakistani rights group that says the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The declaration of the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and other international agreements stand in sharp contrast to reality for millions of Pakistani women.

Madadgaar, set up in collaboration with UNICEF and Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid, says that most of the 587 reported acts of sexual assault on women in Pakistan last year were committed by people known to the victims, 90 percent of women were poor. There were 934 cases of missing children in the country last year, the group says, and only 65 of them were found. In many cases, according to Madadgaar, children left their homes because of violence, abuse, financial issues and educational problems.

Expressing grave concern over these trends, LHRLA President Zia Ahmed Awan recommended that law enforcement agencies, the media and nongovernmental organizations work together to combat the problem."