Anonymity for Sexual Assault Victims

Re: # 13

Those men who enjoy rape are worse than animals.

and dont you belittle the struggle of a courageous lady. I sincerely hope that you are not in the category of people who would be ready to get their mothers and duaghters raped (voluntarily off course) to get rich.

did u retire from the punjab police ( you are a so called retired public servent , living in a posh area of islamabad on his huge pension).

I can understand why your wife left you. you should be ashamed of yourself.

dear nauman

i found the opening para of your article very powerful. you introduce your subject with much conviction.

i also like the way your article ends with a question - one that does not ask for an answer.

in these times of breaking news, nothing can match the sensationalism of a ``scoop`` on the ``brutral rape and / or murder`` of a 9/20/52 year old``...

the intrusion keeps growing - hordes of mediapersons stampede into all possible spheres that belongs to the victim: her home, family, friends, distant relatives, employers, and even her milkman who may give in a juicy bit of snippet on how she apperead on the morning of the crime...

as it seems to me, victim anonymity in terms of respecting and maintainig the privacy and dignity of the hurt individual - has gone to the dogs.

equally painful is the way the media allows an analysis of the ``moral bearing``, ``character`` and what all of the woman-victim. and also thoughtfully go on to include the voices of `shocked residents`` of the ``so and so colony`` where this woman was raped.

i think we need to keep talking about rights more often and more persistently...

My question is; Who are the rapists?
Mostly, men who must have enjoyed it. Then why they protest like Mukhtaran Mai who has been enriched and glorified in cosequence of her alleged rape publicised internationally by media though still to be proved in the court of law.

Please sign this petition. Islamic fundamentalism epidemic has killed far too many people and gone on for a few centuries too many without decent humans doing something about it. Now is your chance. The next step will be for the UN to push all Islamic countries to legistlate these into their respective constitutions, or face sanctions.



MUSLIM MANIFESTO: Like men, women should have the right to decide how they will live, dress, travel, marry and divorce; if they do not enjoy these rights, they are clearly second-class citizens.

MUSLIM MANIFESTO: All critiques of Islam should be countered not by threats and violence, but by rational counter-argument

MUSLIM MANIFESTO: We strongly denounce anti-Semitism. We accept Israel`s right to exist.



MUSLIM MANIFESTO: We accept the legitimacy of the secular state and the secular law. Islamic law, or sharia, was developed at a time when Muslims were living in homogenous communities. In the modern world, virtually all societies are pluralistic, consisting of different faiths and of different perceptions of each faith, including Islam. In this pluralistic setting, a legal system based on a particular version of a single religion cannot be imposed on all citizens.



MUSLIM MANIFESTO: We support and cherish democracy — not because we reject the sovereignty of the Almighty over people, but because we believe that this sovereignty is manifested in the general will of people in a democratic and pluralistic society. We do not accept theocratic rule



MUSLIM MANIFESTO: we cherish religious liberty. Every human has the right to believe or not to believe in Islam or in any other religion All Muslims furthermore have the right to reject and change their religion if desired



Read the complete manifesto and sign the petition here:

http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/akyol_baran200603010816.asp

Re: #
Armies all over the world are supposed to be disciplined. That is their job. This does not justify Pakistan Army conquering Pakistan every few years.

Dirty politics? Look at the people around General Musharraf. Read about Musharraf`s referendum. Read about what the ISI has done to Pakistan. Read about General Aslam Beg`s testimony to the Supreme Court in which he openly accepted that the Army had paid funds for the establishment of the IJI. Read about General Musharraf`s biggest allies, the Chaudhries of Gujrat.

If this is not dirty politics, what is? And all this is happening with the full approval of the ``disciplined`` and ``clean`` Pakistan Army!

Nice article...

but i believe that the issue of anonymity arises before any of the media even come into the picture. Most victims of sexual ``assault`` (and that is not limited to rape only) never come out for the stigma associated with it because the voyeuristic desires of the general mob deflower the assaulted to such an extent that it can be, at times, a lot worse than the assault itself. Even though that gives the culprits some sort of an encouragement but from the assaulted`s point of view, it`s probably the best thing to do

so, it`s the society, as a whole, which needs to change..........

---

And on the point of the army taking over the reins of pakistan, every now and then, i`d say that (and i`m not related to any army personnel even 10 times removed...) even though every time the army has mingled with the politics, it has slowed down the country`s progress but it still is the most well-disciplined institute.... and as far as the argument goes about the army personnel knowing nothing about politics, i wonder if the so-called self-acclaimed poiticians actually know anything as well.... apart from `dirty politics`

Re: # 7
I was not talking about any utopias. I was merely pointing out plain and simple facts. The Army, the ISI, the feudal and tribal sardars and pan-Islamic jihadis...these are the forces holding Pakistan back. Let us hope the destroy each other. Then we can think of the future.

#7 by colonel

Colonel saheb, I agree with you that Pakistan (like most of the region) has a bright future ahead of it (and I personally pray for it, too).

Assuming that (going by your name) you have an army background - please tell me. (Note: some of these may appear simplistic, but please bear with me.)

(1) Can you elaborate what the ``forces of justice and equality`` consist of?

(2) Why does the army keep taking hold of the reins of power? Won`t it have been a much better country had they kept out of the power game and power-brokering game over the last sixty years or so?

(3) How secular is the Pakistani army? (It is my understanding that General Zia did a lot of damage to that institution by islamizing it.) Can it ever be remade into a completely secular army?

(4) Will the army EVER return to its barracks - i.e., accept the supremacy of civilian rule?

Thank you in advance for your candid answers.

#6 by jamesmaxwell & #5 by kamath

Pakistan has its share of problems as most other countries. The state of Utopia only exists in thoughts. Whereas menaces of the feifdoms of Sardars, Feudal Lords do exist , they are limited to certain areas and fighting a loosing battel against the forces of jusice and equaltity.

The fact is that average common person in Pakistan has more freedom of expression and control over his life than most countries in the region (afghanistan, bangladesh, nepal, Iran , China) and almost all countries in Africa and Middle East.

It is a positive indicator that a large number of patrioic Pakistanis recognize the problems an initiate open debates.


The share of Pakistani forces in UN Peace keeping operations has not been surpassed by any other country. They are the most sought after troops in International environments under multinational commands, a tribute to their professionalism.

It is nation and country which is maturing and strutting here and there. Just in the recent past the reaction of the whole Nation to the victims of the Earthquake was nothing but superbly commenable.

While dooms day predictors may be howling aloud, there is no dearth of capable, dedicated, patriotic and honest people in this country.

Re: # 4
There are many states within the Pakistani state. The Army, the ISI, Army-funded and Army-supported militant Islamic militias, the fiefdoms of the Baloch sardars, the huge estates of Punjabi and Sindhi feudals, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Re: # 4

Oui. -Colonel:

It seems Pakistan has lots of internal problems which it should eliminate first . Then why doesn`t The Big General spend more time for these things!. He seems to fly most of the time to visit countries abroad. Make peace with enemies first.

Re: # 2 bjkumar,

I understand your point; and you know what: I agee with you in principle;

However had you any idea of the extent of the power of the Baluchi Sardars and the way their absolute rule in their States within the States flourished under democratic Governments , your views could have been different.

Personaly it will be one of the happiest days of my life when the country will be rid of these killers.

The poisonous mixture of Islam and local customs is responsible for the low status of women in Pakistan.

(Note: since certain people have been implying that I post too many interacts, I will make sure to post as many as I can.)

Victim’s privacy right makes a lot of sense in the West – but it only does so because it goes hand-in-hand with an even more crucial right – the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty. The latter is what one needs to focus on. It is meaningless to stretch the US state-by-state rape laws in any meaningful way to the land of “honor killings”!

Is there any information that the doctor in question would have preferred remaining anonymous? I doubt it.

In the Pakistani context, it is my guess that such an option would probably provide the lady doctor another disincentive to pursue the charges. (The world knows how the khakis behaved IN SPITE OF the adverse publicity.) Let’s not try to pin the blame on the bearer of the bad news, okay!?

#1 Colonel saheb

[The Musharraf may be deserving all the discredit for suppression and dictatorship; but in this particular instance all human rights and democratic forces should give him full backing ….]

The problem with dictators (of all stripes) is that their own credibility is always the first casualty of their very own coup!

The circumstances of the Sui case, which has been quoted, were atypical and, in my opinion, not a suitable example to relate with the general media senstivity or insenstivity.

The whole affair at Sui was meticulously planned and executed by the Feudals. The Baluch Sardars, for whom women are nothing but a commodity and who routinely molest young girls and treat them as private property became the vigil ante. They suddenly turned out to be the protector of the honour of women. The immense wealth, influence and violent reaction was used to interpolate the media frenzy to create a political commotion. Misinformtion was injected and by intent the whole affair was designed to turn into a popular political movement Led by the Most Pious and Righteous Sardars against a rogue and characterless suppressive army. The main aim was to remove the Army their empires, roll back of planning of Cantonments in their areas and thus perpetuation of their Sardaris and continuation of receipt of Crores of Ruppees and Stipends for the hiring of private armies at Government expense. In short this is a resolute effort by the sardars who have hijacked all the resources of the province and receive billions of ruppees.

The victim in this case was not only the Doctor, but that poor young captain (and the Army as a whole) whose name was unjustly maligned. The whole conspiracy was part of grand scheme to discredit the Army as we have witnessed from the subsequent events. Had it not been for the fool proof DNA evidence , the poor chap would have been behind bars.

The Musharraf may be deserving all the discredit for suppression and dictatorship; but in this particular instance all human rights and democratic forces should give him full backing for taking this menace head on and trying to get rid of these devils once and for all. Any other civilian democratic government would have too content with pumping more money into the coffers of these scounderals and offering them the Governership of the province.

If all ends well, the ultimate winner will be the province of Baluchistan and the poor unfortunate people. Many of whom have grown up having no other concept of their existence except to be fiercely loyal to their Sardars at all costs (more like pet dogs). Their brains were never allowed to grow beyond this concept.