The PM of our country responded to a question about rising cases of pedophilia and child abuse by blaming it on vulgarity and women not observing purdah. (1)

#StopEndangeringWomen

In a country with a child abuse epidemic and near complete impunity for perpetrators, the PM chooses to focus on purdah and ‘lowering exposure to temptation’, because ‘not everybody has the willpower to stop themselves’ from committing rape? (2)

This is not just absolutely unacceptable, it is dangerous.
This rationale for rape provides justification to any abuser or rapist to say “Women need to cover, because their body makes me feel aroused and I can’t handle that arousal.” (3)

It provides ammunition to those who refer to women as sluts for the crime of stepping out of their homes.

It enables a man to think that he has the right to chastise women for being in public all because HE is having a sexual response. (4)

These ideas are already all too pervasive in our society and are used to deprive women of everything from education to healthcare access to the simple pleasure of a walk in the park. (5)

And when the PM himself repeats them in front of millions, he reinforces them and makes life even more difficult for women in this country.

This is rape culture.
This is victim blaming. (6)

This same discourse enables the police chief of Lahore to blame the gang rape on the victim for driving at night without a male companion.

It enables a national newspaper to call women protesters ‘whores’ for rejecting the violation of their safety, privacy, body & rights. (7)

It enables child rapists to say they ‘can’t control their desires’ when asked why they violate little children. (8)

We need to talk about the problem if we intend to resolve it. And the truth is sexual violence is about power more than anything - it comes from the patriarchal need to dominate and subjugate women and others who are vulnerable and powerless. (9)

That is why it is done by soldiers in times of war and conquest, by men against women who are become ‘out of control’, ‘to teach them a lesson’ and by men against vulnerable children, including boys (who comprise the majority of child abuse victims in Pakistan). (10)

It is done by those who feel they can get away with it without any consequences.

The PM says some men cannot control themselves from committing rape.

We reject this idea of men as lustful animals unable to control their desires. (11)

We assert instead that it is this patriarchal, feudal and capitalist order that has made so many of them – and even some women – forget their innate humanity and turn into monsters who exploit and abuse others. (12)

The PM’s defenders say he was talking about pornography and vulgarity in media.

We are also against pornography and rampant objectification of female bodies in the capitalist media for the male gaze. But that is not what causes rape, (13)

a crime widely perpetrated for centuries before there was popular media or pornography. It has existed wherever patriarchy has existed, wherever women are silenced, and continues to spread wherever sexual abuse is seen as too sensitive to discuss or call out. (14)

The PM’s statement in response talks about fighting rape by ‘lowering exposure to temptation’. We would like to ask him, in what way did little Zainab tempt her rapist? (15)

What temptation did 4 year old Hareem give to the man who raped and killed her? How did the thousands of little boys raped in madrassahs every year tempt their rapists, many of whom claim to be men of God? (16)

The PM’s statement speaks of ‘fighting together as a society’ to eliminate the menace of Rape in this country. Well, that is what Aurat March does. (17)

Each year we organize and march to highlighting the issues of physical and sexual violence faced by women, children and trans people across Pakistan and proposing detailed policy and legal changes to respond to the problem (see our demands here https://bit.ly/2RiJrUq ). (18)

And what is the response we get?
Our message is completely ignored by our detractors - who launch vicious campaigns founded on lies and deceit. (19)

We will never address the crisis of sexual violence against women and children unless we address the patriarchal roots that are the basis of this violence. (20)

We will never address this crisis until we stop silencing and instead listen to those bearing the brunt of this violence – women. (21)

We will not solve this crisis until decision makers in our state continue to hold these patriarchal ideas that see women as responsible for the violence committed against them. (22)

We will never address this crisis until we teach our children, young boys and men that women are fully human, who need to be treated with respect and dignity and not viewed solely as instruments for procreation and their bodily gratification. (23)

We will not resolve this crisis if we keep expecting women to bear the blame for the ingrained pathologies of violent men. (24)

We can fight this together. But for that, we must first unlearn these pathological patriarchal ideas that put the burden on the powerless and make excuses for the powerful. (25)

#StopEndangeringWomen