31 December 2022
Editorial Team
LAHORE:Voicepk.net is a platform that aims to raise awareness about rights violations and give a voice to marginalized communities by bringing their concerns to the attention of the authorities and the national discourse.
We take a look back to some of our stories that have had an impact and helped victims get access to justice.
Woman commits suicide over deep-faked graphic images
Voicepk.net narrated the tragic story of how a woman’s pictures were deep-faked into sexually graphic images and made viral in her village in Okara, which led to her suicide. The FIA DG took notice of the two-month delay in the registration of the FIR and ordered the arrest of the nominated accused. Legislators in the Punjab Assembly urged the home minister to investigate the matter thoroughly and impartially.
Delay in rape trial of minor domestic worker
In February, Voicepk.net brought to the forefront a horrific case where a minor domestic worker was repeatedly raped by a police officer, and whose trial took over three years, reflecting a dismal conviction rate as low as 3%. Her case was taken up by the AGHS Legal Aid Cell. The story won an award later the same year, given by the United Nations Family Planning Association and the National Commission for the Status of Women.
Repatriation of Pakistani woman detained in India
A Pakistani woman detained along with her daughter in India for months was finally repatriated after AGHS Legal Aid Cell appealed to the government on her behalf. Voicepk.net was the only media platform to raise the issue. Sadly, the pair continue to live like prisoners in their homeland due to the denial of nationality for Sameera’s daughter.
High number of suicides among scheduled castes in Sindh
In June, a Voicepk.net investigative report looked into the high number of suicides taking place in Sindh discovering that most took place among the scheduled castes, especially in Tharparkar the most backward region.
Between July 2014 and June 2019, 590 people belonging to Scheduled Castes killed themselves due to various reasons, yet no steps were being taken to resolve their issues. The story was taken as an Editor’s Pick of the 10 best investigative stories from Pakistan (2022), on the Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) website. It also received a national award from IRADA, among 100 other stories on gender and diversity.
Murder of Australian-Pakistani woman in Sargodha
An Australian-Pakistani woman, Sajida Tasneem, was reportedly axed to death by her father-in-law for insisting on going back to Australia for the education of her three children. The Age, an Australian newspaper, and VICE, a Canadian-American digital platform, reported on the case in collaboration and with the help of Voicepk. The Australian government took notice of the case and provided consular services to the family of the deceased.
Hybrid conference on Democratizing South Asia in the Digital Age
Voicepk.net in collaboration with AGHS and SAHR organized and hosted a youth-based hybrid conference titled Democraticising South Asia in the Digital Age. The moot provided the participants with an opportunity to meet and discuss ways to enhance cross-border partnerships in various fields, particularly in defending the rights of marginalized groups.
Minorities voice their concern over forced conversions
Voicepk conducted a webinar on forced conversion and marriage of underage girls of religious minorities. Panelists from Christian and Hindu communities apprised lawmakers about the severity and prevalence of the issue. Parliamentary Secretary for Law & Justice Mehnaz Akbar Aziz gave her word to take up the matter in National Assembly.
Voicepk monitored the status of the Bill on Enforced Disappearances in Parliament as well as highlighting prolonged cases of missing persons in the country.