September 19, 2020
By Sher-e-Azam
KARACHI
After the gang rape and murder of five year old Marwah from Essa Nagri, in Karachi East, yet another tragic incident took place. In one of the localities of Baldia Town, a disabled woman was gang raped by two men, and in the same household, tried to do the same with an elderly woman of 80 years.
At the shouting and screaming of the women, the neighbours rushed in to see what was happening and manage to get hold of one of the men, Faisal, but the other main suspect Hameed fled the scene and remains at large. The community people handed Faisal over to the police. According to the disabled woman, Hameed and Faisal had raped her and since nearly two months had been sexually abusing her regularly.
“It’s been months since these people have been sexually abusing me,” she says. “We caught Faisal but Hameed managed to escape. They have tarnished my honor, and so I feel like I also want to hurt them terribly, but since I am disabled, I am unable to do anything. Let justice be done to me and the accused be brought to justice,” she adds.
Her husband Saeedullah joins his hands together while speaking to Voicepk.net and begs for justice. He begins to cry as he tells of the threats and harassment they continue to face.
“They have sent messages about how they will ruin our lives,” cries Saeedullah, who is himself disabled. “Faisal said to me, ‘let me come out of the police station, then I will show you what rape actually is’.
The 80-year-old woman, who is Saeedullah’s mother who cannot even rise from the charpai on her own. She says Hameed, alias Hangu, first raped her daughter in law and then came towards her.
“Since a year and a half I have been restricted to my charpai and have not been able to get up on my own,” says the old woman. “I did not let this person come to me and started screaming. Otherwise I have been helpless. All I want is for me and my daughter in law to be left alone and that no one should bother us again.”
This family is not the only one affected by these serial rapists.
Accused Faisal had raped one other woman in the same locality around three months ago. According to the woman, the accused was constantly threatening to kill her after the rape. Coincidently this woman too is disabled due to an accident. She said that Faisal used to come during the day when her husband Mohammad Akran, who is a labourer, was not home and rape her.
“We have been upset since three months now,” says Akram. “Faisal has been coming since some time on every pretext possible – sometimes for money, sometimes other matters just forcing his way inside.
“This used to be a shanty before we had it cemented. The man used to often barge his way inside, sometimes shouting and scaring at the children, sometimes bringing other boys with him carrying weapons (pistols),” he says. “He threatened to kill me, and once or twice we even got into a brawl.”
Area resident Fehmida says that these men have political backing.
“I also have young daughters, God forbid we have to face such an incident. I am also one of the people living in this community. These men should be severely punished,” she says. “Not only did they rape the women they also threatened them to keep silent otherwise they would kill them. Everyone is scared after this incident.”
Area resident Sadia says that she has small children and cannot afford to live in such a place anymore. “They should be given such a punishment that no one force their way with women anymore.”
Social activist Abdul Aziz says that his heart tears up from inside when such incidents happen. “This incident is shocking,” he says. “The accused Hameed and Faisal involved in this incident must be punished at once according to legal proceedings so women are given justice.”
On the other hand, senior police officer of Mominabad police station Abdul Khaliq Ansari told Voicepk.net in an interview that the police did take timely action and arrested Faisal. Hameed was still at large, but raids were being carried out for his arrest. Samples of victim’s DNA have been taken, and proceedings would begin after the results come in.
