In a shocking event on Sunday (5th May), the Bisham Police in Pakistan apprehended three individuals for sexually harassing and capturing a college boy in the nude. This disturbing incident occurred in the Maira area of Bisham tehsil, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The accused not only blackmailed the victim with threats to leak the video but also warned him of dire consequences if he dared to speak of the incident to anyone.
An initial complaint was filed at police station Dandai in Bisham Tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa invoking sections 377 (unnatural offence), 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or a shorter term), and 506/34 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
According to the FIR, the victim, having completed his intermediate examination last Friday, was approached by the suspects, whom he was acquainted with. The suspects purportedly enticed the victim under the guise of escorting him to a riverbank before making sexual advances towards him — actions that were met with resistance and thwarted, reported local media.
Nevertheless, the suspects recorded the victim unclothed and issued threats to expose the footage and harm him if he reported the incident.
Station House Officer (SHO) Dandai, Muhammad Arif Khan, disclosed that the trio implicated in the FIR was apprehended today, with further interrogation ongoing.
As per the FIR, the victim was referred to the tehsil headquarters hospital, Bisham, on the day of the incident for medical examination.
Data collected by Sahil, an NGO dedicated to addressing child sexual abuse, reveals a disturbing trend: the majority of abusers are individuals known to the victims, such as acquaintances, neighbours, or even family members.
Shockingly, religious teachers and clerics emerge as the primary perpetrators within institutional settings, surpassing even police officers, school teachers, or nuclear family members in the number of complaints filed against them, according to local media.
Primary data remains limited and organisations rely on media reports and police complaints but the trend over the past 20 years shows the gender divide of abused girls in madrassas is slightly higher than that of boys (‘Cruel Numbers’).
On April 2nd, a Pakistani man named Faisal Rafi posed a thought-provoking question on X (previously known as Twitter), inquiring if anyone had been raped or sexually abused by a Maulvi. The question rapidly gained traction, with hundreds of people, regardless of gender, responding affirmatively, leaving many stunned. Faisal himself shared that he too had experienced such an incident, but clarified that it did not occur in a madrasa but at his home.
The overwhelming response shed light on the prevalence of physical and sexual assault by Maulvis in Pakistan, a problem that extends to the UK Muslim community as well. In India, similar cases have surfaced, including the December 2023 arrest of Maulvi Muntazir Alam for sexually assaulting a minor girl who attended Urdu lessons at a mosque in Hamirpur.
Despite the apparent frequency of such incidents, comprehensive primary data is scarce, and organizations often depend on media reports and police complaints. Nevertheless, a review of the last 20 years indicates that the number of abused girls in madarsas slightly exceeds that of boys.
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