May 15, 2025
By Kaleem Dawar
LAHORE
On May 4, twenty year old B* was seated in her wheelchair outside her home, peacefully taking in the surroundings, when a man named Ali Raza approached her, put his hand over his mouth and dragged her off the wheelchair to a nearby house, owned by one Abdullah Macchani. B, who is a person with a disability (PWD) was unable to defend herself and escape, as she was not able to use her legs.
The incident took place in the Qussa Mula area of Sehwan. However surprisingly, despite the gravity of the situation, the family filed a First Information Report (FIR) six days later at the Sehwan Police Station.
The FIR, filed by B’s uncle Amjad Ali, says that neither Bakhtawar’s father nor he, were at home at the time the incident took place. B’s father was in Hyderabad at the time and when he returned, he found his daughter crying. Upon asking her, she told him that she had been raped. She told him that Ali Raza had dragged her into a nearby house, locked her in a room, raped her, and then fled. “I was screaming loudly, but nobody heard me,” she said.
Speaking to Voicepk, B’s uncle said, “I am hopeful and confident that we will get justice because of the prompt response and interest in the case by the police,” he said. “We are poor people working on daily wages that barely cover our living expenses, but we will fight for justice.”
Meanwhile, the investigating officer, Jawan Khan, told Voicepk that the accused has been arrested
and presented in court.
We secured a 30-day police remand from the court. The investigation is ongoing, and we are hopeful and committed to providing justice to the victim.”
Vulnerable beyond limit
Persons with disabilities (PWDs) are a typically vulnerable section of society, especially towards sexual abuse and assault. We can see this in the frequent incidents that take place over the year.
In a similar case in 2024, a deaf nine-year-old girl was raped by three men in Fuji Jamali village, located n the Wahi Pandhi area of the Kachho belt in Dadu District. An FIR was registered, and two of the accused were arrested and jailed, but the third managed to flee the country and escaped to a Gulf state.
The victim’s uncle, 30-year-old Azizullah, who filed the complaint, told Voicepk,
“I am a peasant working in fields owned by other people,” he says. “I don’t have the resources to fight this case, but I’m still pursuing it in the hope of justice.”
Despite regularly attending court hearings with his mother and the victim, Azizullah says they often return home without even a hearing taking place.
“Our case was progressing smoothly in the session court, and we were hopeful. But when the accused saw that the judge wasn’t sparing them, they began pressuring the victim’s family to withdraw the case,” his lawyer Mushtaq Ahmed Solangi, who is handling the case, told Voicepk. “They used various tactics, including violence. On one occasion, the complainant’s mother was actually beaten up by a family member of the accused. When this kind of intimidation failed, they filed an application to have the case transferred from the Session’s court to the High Court. After the case was dismissed from the Session’s court, they filed the application again and this time, in the high court, which is why the case is now in limbo. Because the proceedings of the case is neither going there nor here.”
While there is no specific data regarding rape and sexual assault of survivors who are also PWDs, statistics have been collected by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s (HRCP) 2024 annual report.
According to the report, The State of Human Rights in Pakistan, at least 191 cases of rape and 26 cases of gang rape were reported under the sexual assault category. Additionally, 165 cases of murder, 250 cases of physical assault, and five cases of forced conversion were recorded under domestic violence against women. In Sindh alone, at least 2000 women were reportedly abducted.
The vulnerability of persons with disabilities is particularly devastating for children, who often suffer the most significant impact.
Maniezh Bano, the executive director of Sahil, a non-governmental organization focused on child rights and
protection, tells Voicepk that data on disabled survivors and victims of sexual abuse is almost entirely missing.
“More than often, families choose not to report such cases because they cannot bear the additional burden of social stigma,” she explains. “Moreover, when such unfortunate incidents occur, it is commonly observed that many of the families offer little to no support to their loved one who has a disability. They believe the individual will not be able to provide evidence to the police, and therefore, they do not pursue the case.”
She adds that such indivduals are often exposed to a risk of rape or sexual assault because perpetrators approach them in the guise of helping them.
Syeda Imtiaz Fatima, who has a disability and uses the wheelchair opened up to Voicepk about the lack of protection that individuals like herself face, especially women.
“Disabled women face many problems, but one of the most pressing issues is the lack of wheelchair ramps, which is not only inconvenient for us, it channels harassment towards us,” she says. “When people offer help by physically supporting us, they often cross boundaries through inappropriate touching. But when we, as disabled individuals who cannot protect ourselves, speak up and complain, we are blamed instead. They say, ‘We were only trying to help, and now you’re accusing us.’ In such a situations, what choice do we have but to silently endure it.”
Dr. Nusrat Habib Rana, former executive director of the Punjab Institute of Mental Health (PIMH) and chief consultant psychiatrist says the issue of sexual abuse has more to do with the misogyny in society.
“Even if the girl was not disabled, she would still be vulnerable due to the patriarchal and misogynistic nature of our society, which can be seen in the aggressive behavior of people,” she says. “In our society, women are neither given respect nor seen as individual human beings. They are treated as commodities or symbols of male honor, which leads to an increase in not just sexual abuse, but also domestic violence.”
Dr. Rana strongly criticizes the state’s neglect of the disabled population.
“There are no community or rehabilitation centers for people with disabilities where they can live safely under professional care. Most of these individuals come from poor families who live in one-room houses and cannot provide adequate support. It is the responsibility of the state to build community and rehabilitation centers in every district to protect and care for them,” she says.
It is often observed that when a rape or sexual assault occurs, society tends to blame the victim rather than condemning the perpetrator. In cases involving disabled people, especially women and children, ableist stereotypes prevail — such as
the belief that they are not attractive and therefore not at risk of sexual violence.
Dr. Nusrat strongly refutes this narrative. “A rapist is not concerned with whether someone is attractive or not. They
only want to satisfy their lust for power and control.”