11pt”>In Pakistan, rape culture and the belittling of sexual abuse isn’t just a feature of rural or tribal areas. Former military dictator Pervez Musharraf accused women of ‘using rape for moneymaking’, while Imran Khan, as prime minister, blamed the way women dress and their lifestyle choices for the rise in rape cases across the country. Khan continues to enjoy massive popularity among overseas Pakistanis, including in the UK. His playboy lifestyle during his cricket days – and later political career as a born-again Muslim – is often considered by young Pakistani men as the ideal life template….
While the failure of the British authorities to protect young girls from grooming gangs is lamentable, there is something currently missing to stop these crimes happening in the future. There needs to be a much greater backlash to these crimes within the Pakistani community. While many progressive and liberal Pakistanis condemn sexist violence at home, when these crimes take place in Britain, they join their predominantly conservative fellow community members in a conspiracy of silence. Ostensibly this is because they are afraid of racism and ‘Islamophobia’. For many of these progressives in Pakistan, upholding the myth of cultural equivalence is more important than providing justice to the victims and prevention of these monstrous acts. It would be far better to speak up against these crimes, instead of looking to pin the blame elsewhere.
Indeed. Where are these condemnations from within the Pakistani community?
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