Twitter is outraged and afraid after video of Islamabad woman's sexual assault goes viral

IMAGES STAFF
DESK REPORT


Usman Mirza may have been arrested but people are still highlighting how unsafe women are in this country.

The hashtag #ArrestUsmanMirza has been trending since Tuesday night, when graphic videos of the stripping, sexual assault and torture of a woman and man began circulating on social media. Usman Mirza has since been arrested by the Islamabad police but social media isn't appeased.

The FIR, which was registered on Tuesday — presumably after the video began circulating on social media — says the assault took place within the Golra police station limits at an apartment building in sector E-11/2. The case was registered on the complaint of a sub-inspector.

"The video of the incident went viral on social media. In the video, five to six men can be seen keeping the victims in custody under gunpoint. The accused also stripped the couple naked while threatening them," the FIR said, adding that the suspects were also doing "vulgar acts".

The case was registered under Section 354-A (assaulting and stripping woman of her clothes), Section 506 (criminal intimidation), Section 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and Section 509 (sexual harassment) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Social media initially trending the #ArrestUsmanMirza hashtag to have Mirza, the main suspect, arrested. But after his arrest, the hashtag continued to be used to highlight the situation.

You blame women for being raped because of their clothes, reject bills that will punish domestic abusers and now men go around raping girls and make videos of it, wrote comedian and rapper Ali Gul Pir. "It's time for a change," he wrote, tagging Prime Minister Imran Khan. His sentiment was widely shared on social media as people have been bringing up the premier's recent comments linking rape and women's clothes. "If a woman is wearing very few clothes it will have an impact, it will have an impact on the men, unless they’re robots. I mean it’s common sense," he had said.

Among other messages on social media were frequent appeals for people to stop sharing the video as it showed the victims' faces.

However, many people noted that it takes a graphic video of violence for action to be taken in this country.

According to Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat, the video is a few months old. Action was taken by the police after the video began circulating on social media.

"We live in a country where ... abusers can get away with crimes because they are backed by a state that always tells them it was the woman’s fault," wrote one user, criticising the lack of government support for victims.

Another believed this was part of a greater issue where petty tyrants are able to commit crimes with impunity. "Change must begin now," they wrote.

Internet celebrity Nasir Khan Jan knew this is part of a never-ending cycle.

"Let me tell you what's going to happen after this incident," he wrote. "The police will release Usman Mirza, ministers will tweet one after the other, #ArrestUsmanMirza will trend for another two days on Twitter and then we'll forget until the next rape," he said. His commentary is spot on because, unfortunately, this is the same thing that happens every time an incident like this is reported in Pakistan.

One user demanded we make an example of Mirza, but how many examples do we need?

This user had something to say about how scary it is to be a woman and yet be blamed for crimes against you.

Another raised a harrowing point about the videos that haven't gone viral on social media. Though they're talking about Mirza in particular, this applies to thousands of cases across the country.

Many of the post on social media were from women who are terrified after hearing of and in some cases seeing this assault.

Where are women supposed to be safe? Not on the streets, not in schools or universities and not in our homes. This horrifying incident just reminds us that there are very if any spaces where women are safe. Until we take concrete action to ensure the safety of women in this country, incidents like this will remain Twitter trends that, as Nasir Khan Jan said, die out after a day or two.

We have one thing to ask of you — stop sharing the video but don't stop being outraged. Be angry at this incident and others like it and use your anger to fight for safer spaces for women in this country.

 Islamabad police arrest man for torturing, stripping woman naked

Shakeel Qarar
Published July 7, 2021


 

A man has been arrested in Islamabad after a harrowing video of him torturing and stripping a couple went viral on social media, it emerged on Wednesday. — Photo provided by author

Police arrested a suspect in Islamabad after a harrowing video of him torturing and stripping a woman and a man went viral on social media, it emerged on Wednesday.

According to the FIR registered on July 6, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the incident took place within Golra police station limits at an apartment building in sector E-11/2. The case was registered on the complaint of a sub-inspector.

"The video of the incident went viral on social media. In the video, five to six men can be seen keeping the victims in custody under gunpoint. The accused also stripped the man and the woman naked while threatening them," the FIR said, adding that the suspects were also doing "vulgar acts".

The case was registered under Section 354-A (assaulting and stripping a woman of her clothes), Section 506 (criminal intimidation), Section 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and Section 509 (sexual harassment) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

"The video of violence against a woman and a man went viral on social media. Islamabad police immediately utilised all resources to arrest the accused in a few hours, registered an FIR and initiated legal action," Islamabad police said on Twitter.

Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat said that the culprit had been arrested after police efforts. "His accomplices are also being arrested. It is once again requested to please delete the videos which show the victims," he said.

Hours later, the deputy commissioner said that all the suspects had been arrested. The incident, which was highlighted on social media, quickly became the top trend in the country with netizens calling for strict punishment for the main accused, identified as Usman Mirza.

"Monsters like Usman Mirza are product of a culture in which they know they can commit horrific violence with impunity. Unfortunately, women face the brunt of our system's brutality," said activist Ammar Ali Jan.

Journalist Najia Ashar said just arresting the culprit was not enough. "Make an example out of this monster," she wrote.

PPP leader Naz Baloch said that instant justice and speedy trial of heinous offences is the only solution to root out violence against women.

Smart foam material gives robotic hand ability to self-repair

Reuters

Published July 7, 2021 

PROFESSOR Benjamin Tee holds samples of the artificially innervated smart foam next to a robotic arm fitted with the foam at Singapore National University.—Reuters


SINGAPORE: Singapore researchers have developed a smart foam material that allows robots to sense nearby objects, and repairs itself when damaged, just like human skin.

Artificially innervated foam, or AiFoam, is a highly elastic polymer created by mixing fluoropolymer with a compound that lowers surface tension.

This allows the spongy material to fuse easily into one piece when cut, according to the researchers at the National University of Singapore.


“There are many applications for such a material, especially in robotics and prosthetic devices, where robots need to be a lot more intelligent when working around humans,” explained lead researcher Benjamin Tee.

To replicate the human sense of touch, the researchers infused the material with microscopic metal particles and added tiny electrodes underneath the surface of the foam.

When pressure is applied, the metal particles draw closer within the polymer matrix, changing their electrical properties. These changes can be detected by the electrodes connected to a computer, which then tells the robot what to do, Tee said.

“When I move my finger near the sensor, you can see the sensor is measuring the changes of my electrical field and responds accordingly to my touch,” he said.

This feature enables the robotic hand to detect not only the amount but also the direction of applied force, potentially making robots more intelligent and interactive.

Tee said AiFoam is the first of its kind to combine both self-healing properties and proximity and pressure sensing. After spending over two years developing it, he and his team hope the material can be put to practical use within five years.

“It can also allow prosthetic users to have more intuitive use of their robotic arms when grabbing objects,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2021

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Punjab to establish separate schools for transgender community: minister

UNLIKE THE USA WHERE THEY ARE BANNED FROM  GIRLS BATHROOMS IN SCHOOL

APP

Published July 6, 2021 - 

Punjab education minister said the first of its kind 'transgender-only' school will be established in Multan very soon.— AFP/File

The Punjab government will establish separate schools for the transgender community in selected cities of the province and the first of its kind will be established in Multan very soon, Education Minister Dr Murad Raas announced on Tuesday.

Addressing a ceremony of the Insaf Afternoon School Programme in Lahore, the minister said that the government had decided not to enroll transgender persons in regular schools due to reservations regarding the behaviour of other students.

He added that the attitude of students of regular schools could be insulting towards the transgender community, which is why separate schools would be established for them.

He claimed that it was unfortunate that no government, except for the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, had thought about the welfare and provision of education and jobs to the community.

Appreciating the efforts of the education chief executive officers and the teachers for a successful enrollment drive across the province, the minister expressed the hope that a large number of out-of-school children would be enrolled in schools.

He said that selected schools under the IASP would be upgraded according to the needs before starting classes, adding that the registration of such schools was in progress and would be completed till July 15.

In response to a question, he said that only a small number of private schools were open for summer classes to cover the syllabus, adding that from August 1, all government institutions would also be reopened.

He urged parents and school heads to ensure implementation of Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) in schools.

Dr Raas also termed the implementation of Single National Curriculum from August 1, 2021 a historic step towards improvement of education standards.

He said that keeping in view the importance of teacher training, the government had arranged trainings under Microsoft certification for improving the capacity of Punjab teachers.

TIME HEALS ALL WOUNDS

US hosts high-level Saudi visit after Khashoggi killing
AP

Published July 6, 2021 - 

In this 2019 file photo, Saudi Arabia's Deputy Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman arrives at a meeting at the Pentagon in Washington, US. — Reuters/File

Top Biden administration officials on Tuesday hosted a brother to Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in the highest-level such visit known since the United States made public intelligence findings linking the crown prince to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The Biden administration did not publicly disclose the visit by Prince Khalid bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s deputy defence minister, in advance. President Joe Biden had pledged to make a “pariah” of the kingdom’s crown prince during his presidential campaign over Khashoggi’s killing and other abuses, but his administration has instead emphasised US strategic interests with Saudi Arabia.

At a briefing with reporters on Tuesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed the meetings were underway and indicated that officials may raise the killing.

Khalid bin Salman met briefly at the Pentagon with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, one official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a meeting that was not yet made public. The Saudi prince had longer talks at the Pentagon with Colin Kahl, undersecretary of defence for policy, the official said.


Khalid bin Salman also was due to talk with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and, at the State Department, Undersecretary Victoria Nuland and counselor Derek Chollet, two other US officials said, also speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak about the visit.

Americans and the prince were expected to discuss matters including the war in Yemen, military contracts and Saudi concerns over US efforts to return to a nuclear agreement with Iran, Saudi Arabia’s rival.

A State Department spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly, said the administration has made clear that it found Khashoggi’s killing unacceptable. The spokesperson said the US would continue raising human rights concerns at the highest level.

The Saudi government had no immediate public comment on the visit.

Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post who had written critically of Mohammed bin Salman, was killed by Saudi officials in October 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Khashoggi, who was based in the Washington, DC area, had gone to the consulate to get documentation for his upcoming wedding.

The Biden administration in February released a declassified intelligence report concluding that Mohammed bin Salman, powerful son of the aging King Salman, had authorised the team of Saudi security and intelligence officials that killed Khashoggi.

State Department spokespeople did not respond to a question on Tuesday about why they had not announced the Saudi official’s visit in advance.

They also did not answer whether the Biden administration had concluded Khalid bin Salman played no role in the Saudi organisation behind Khashoggi’s killing, or had decided instead that US interests required Biden officials to meet with senior Saudi royals despite the administration’s public condemnation of the killing.

As the crown prince’s younger brother, Prince Khalid was the kingdom’s ambassador in Washington at the time, but he was recalled soon after Khashoggi’s killing amid bipartisan US outrage. When Khashoggi vanished after going to the Saudi consulate in Turkey, Khalid bin Salman insisted for days that accusations of official Saudi involvement in his disappearance were groundless.

The Washington Post reported that Khalid bin Salman had told Khashoggi to go to the consulate in Turkey to pick up the needed wedding papers, and told him it would be safe to do so.

Situation in Afghanistan to hit Pakistan, warns PPP
Iftikhar A. Khan

Published July 7, 2021 - 

Senator Sherry Rehman noted that Pakistan had the highest stakes in Afghan peace, but the geopolitics of escalating violence next door indicated that peace might be much further than imagined. —APP/File


ISLAMABAD: PPP vice president Senator Sherry Rehman on Tuesday warned that the situation in Afghanistan could badly affect Pakistan.

Talking to reporters on the rapidly evolving situation in Afghanistan, she noted that Pakistan had the highest stakes in Afghan peace, but the geopolitics of escalating violence next door indicated that peace might be much further than imagined.

She said that in this scenario clear and focused policymaking at home would have far-reaching benefits for security and economic stability of the country.

“Clarity and consensus are needed for any foreign policy to be successful, especially if policy agendas are focused on protecting a country’s interests and people, which involves managing competing interests and ideas,” she said.

“In times of crisis, leadership is crucial to policy formation as well as its smart articulation,” she said.

“Unfortunately, at key inflection points for the country, the prime minister, who should have the convening power and accompanying goodwill to ensure unity and consensus via political parties and parliaments, is absent. “It’s as if he feels he can outsource vital decisions that will test Pakistan, to other cabinet members and the security community, who should not have to go it alone when trying to chart a way forward for the country in the institutional vacuum he has created in Pakistan.

“In war or peace, a country needs a leader who can speak with moderation and intellectual integrity with parliament in order to manage crisis or create new paths for development. Pakistan seems rudderless at the moment, with the PM only using his office to swing from one extreme position to another,” the PPP leader said.

Asked what the PPP would have done had it been in power, she said: “We would have to reinvent no wheel. We already have a framework in place through which the National Security Committee of both houses of parliament came into being as a result of consensus resolution to defeat extremism and terrorism in 2008. This resolution was framed as an outcome of a joint session of parliament which took place after a series of bombings, including the attack on Hotel Marriot, and this very resolution authorised the National Security Committee of parliament to continue meetings, briefings, deliberations and decision-making which reflected the shared stakes of parliament, which represents all of Pakistan.

“When confronted with a difficult policy choice, for instance what to do with existing American bases leased out covertly in 2001, this committee was able to draft a joint agreement for Pakistan to go forward with closing bases, but opening the Ground Lines of Communications for Nato forces bringing equipment and arms out of Afghanistan, not allowing anyone into the country via Pakistan’s air or ground space. Because we were able to use our government’s convening power and across-the-aisle goodwill in parliament, with all key ministries and [then]president (Asif Ali) Zardari and PM (Yousuf Raza) Gilani playing key roles in tandem with other offices, the agreements were publicly acceptable in Pakistan; they were also accepted by the US and Nato entities as consensus agreements. Pakistan was able to not only launch anti-militancy operations in 2009 via the mandate of the Parliament Resolution of 2008, but also virtually eliminate Al Qaeda from its border regions by 2013, and come out of this tough period of sacrifice and national trauma by the ability of its leadership to work together and to carry parliament and people with them.”

Ms Rehman said foreign policy could not be predicated on mood-swing statements, or personal likes or dislikes of any individual. “It is pure statecraft which must reflect the institutional expression of state interests as well as the political will of the people of Pakistan. Big decisions need big leaders who can sublimate their ego to public interests and institutional tradecraft, not just reach out to mass media via tweets and TV addresses. As Pakistan faces one of the worst emerging regional situations in decades, the first test of its foreign policy is to not lock itself into policy straitjackets, but to be able to navigate a fine balance between friends and frenemies.

“There is a tightening of the international community circle around Pakistan with reference to FATF, GSP-plus benchmarks, among other multilateral exposure windows, and despite the volume of our messaging, India will not be put to the same standard. In a non-level global playing field, Pakistan will need maturity and political depth to manage best outcomes. We also need to utilise the CPEC opportunity better and move forward with our all-weather friends with greater consistency and stability in our responses. No friend, no matter how supportive they are, should be taken for granted.”

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2021

THE PPP IS THE PARTY OF THE BHUTTO CLAN, BENAZIR BHUTTO WHEN PM  CREATED THE TALIBAN WITH THE AID OF THE PSI (PAKISTAN SECRET SERVICE)

SEE LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for BENAZIR BHUTTO 

RSF report a charge-sheet against govt: PML-N

Reporters Without Borders, also known as Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF)

The Newspaper's Staff Reporter

Published July 6, 2021 -

This combo photo shows Prime Minister Imran Khan and Indian PM Narendra Modi.

 — Reuters/File

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) information secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb has claimed that the latest report of the Reporters Without Borders is a charge-sheet against the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government.

In a statement on Monday, she said Imran Khan’s alleged “authoritarian attitude” and character was defiling Pakistan’s image abroad.

Ms Aurangzeb said the global community had unequivocally condemned the government’s suppression of the freedom of expression.

“The report says that the PTI government is worse than military dictatorships in Pakistan when it comes to press freedom. The Human Rights Watch, Pakistan Press Freedom Report and Freedom Network Report had already declared the Imran government as the worst media gagging administration in the history of the country,” she said.

Ms Aurangzeb said the latest report of the Reporters Without Borders had exposed the “predatory behaviour” of the government. She said the actions by the PTI government had not only reflected negatively on Pakistan’s journalism but also adversely affected the country’s position when it came to Financial Action Task Force and the GSP Plus status by the European Union.

Ms Aurangzeb said the report pointed out that newspaper distribution and news channel broadcasting were hampered by the PTI government.

“It mentions that journalists are harassed, abducted and assaulted for crossing the red lines defined by the state. The report also pointed out that freedom of expression on social media is also being curbed through new dark and draconian laws,” she said while quoting from the report.

RSF Report

Reporters Without Borders, also known as Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF), on its official website has published “a gallery of grim portraits, those of 37 heads of state or government who launched a crackdown massively on press freedom” under the caption “RSF’s 2021: Press freedom predators gallery – old tyrants, two women and a European.”

“There are now 37 leaders from around the world in RSF’s predators of press freedom gallery and no one could say this list is exhaustive,” RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said.

Besides Prime Minister Imran Khan, the RSF list includes Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Chinese President Xi Jingping, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Tajik President Emamoli Rakhmon, Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, King of Bahrain Hamed bin Isa Al Khalifa and Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2021

The new kingdom

Even before the pandemic, Saudi Arabia had faced the challenge of training its citizenry to become workers.

Rafia Zakaria

Published July 7, 2021 -

The writer is an attorney teaching constitutional law and political philosophy.


ABOUT a decade ago, the rulers of Saudi Arabia faced some difficult truths. Fossil fuels, experts must have told them, were increasingly a losing bet. The dark liquid that they extracted from the earth would not bring in the millions and billions so unfailingly as it did in decades past.

The Western world had developed a moral argument against the use of polluting fossil fuels; a burgeoning climate movement was critical of the limitless use of oil, depicting it as the polluting enemy that was eating up the once clean air of towns and cities. This was terrible news for the kingdom, and its long tradition of relying on the Western consumer market gobbling up what it had to sell. With the Americans extracting their own oil through fracking and developing electric cars in the meantime, the days of oil kings were waning fast. The Saudis, the world’s richest purveyors of oil, would have to change and change fast.

The pandemic has, in all sorts of unexpected ways, hastened the need for this drastic transformation. For over a year, most of the Western world was stilled by lockdowns, and airlines, major consumers of oil, were nearly grounded as people sat in their homes to save their lives. Work from home implementation by hundreds of companies meant that few were commuting, reducing the demand for oil. Add to this a cavalcade of climate disasters that substantiated how careless and gluttonous the old oil-run world had been and the end of oil was in sight. Avoiding fossil fuels became part of the political agenda in much of the Western world and lowering the carbon footprint part of the definition of being a good citizen.

Even before the pandemic, the kingdom had faced the challenge of training its citizenry to become workers who saw money as something that had to be earned rather than divvied up by the oil-fattened state. Their solution was ‘nitaqat’ or ‘Saudisation’, a phased project that would send home the nearly 80 per cent of the workforce made up of immigrants from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Saudi nationals would replace them.

Even before the pandemic, Saudi Arabia had faced the challenge of training its citizenry to become workers.

The Saudis recently released the details of the second phase of the Saudisation programme whose goal is to make 340,000 jobs available to Saudi citizens.

As with the first phase of the nitaqat programme this is being done by designating a long list of jobs as reserved for Saudis only. The first list of restrictions in this programme had included drivers, food-service workers, security staff and many other designations. The second newly released list also includes white-collar jobs such as those in law and the provision of legal advice, real estate, customs and clearance, cinema, driving schools, as well as technology and engineering professions.

To get Saudi men and women into the workforce, an agenda of social reforms is also being pursued to support the larger project of transforming Saudis into workers. Last month, the kingdom decreed that women could live alone and independently without the presence of a male guardian. Saudi women, many of whom are better educated than their male counterparts, have already been permitted to drive and recently even to perform Haj with other female travellers rather than with a male guardian. There is no doubt that all of this is directed at making women part of this newly envisioned workforce.

Sadly, what is good for Saudi women, long neglected and left to suffer under misogynist laws and directives, is not very good for Pakistani workers. A look at remittances, which make up a significant percentage of Pakistan’s GDP, reveals that Pakistani workers in Saudi Arabia send back billions of dollars. A great number of the nearly 2m Pakistani workers in the kingdom, it appears, will now be returning home, if they are not already here. Even if some manage to cling to their pre-nitaqat jobs it will only be the case until a trained Saudi worker can be found to do whatever they do. It can be concluded that the process of eliminating them has already begun.

Read: Pakistan beat India, Bangladesh in manpower export in 2020: ministry

The government of Pakistan, enriched as it is by the money sent home by Pakistanis working in Saudi Arabia, must step in. The prime minister’s last visit to Saudi Arabia did not seem to produce any welcome news, not even some momentary exception for Pakistani workers that would soften the blow of the eventual drying up of jobs. Where will these Pakistani workers, once uprooted, go? How will the shortfall in remittances be made up? These are all open questions for which the government of Pakistan does not seem to have a satisfactory answer.

Pakistan too needs to prepare for the economy of the future. Travel restrictions based on health reasons or in the case of the kingdom, a transforming economy, are here to stay. The world’s increased reliance on the automated and virtual sectors means that data analysis and management jobs, most of which will be remote, will proliferate. Pakistani workers should be trained to take advantage of this emerging market. Incentives must be provided to entrepreneurs who can work with foreign companies on projects in the ballooning virtual sector. Similar investment incentives must be given to countries who can invest in Pakistan’s emerging technology sector.

All kingdoms and countries look out for themselves with the resources they have at hand. Naturally, Pakistan’s ability to do so is limited primarily by its resources but also by a lack of policy foresight and of concern for the well-being of Pakistanis toiling in Saudi Arabia. Some of these, like resource poverty, are inherited conditions; the rest are the consequences of the decades-long apathy demonstrated by a parade of self-interested and short-sighted rulers.

It is a pity that Pakistanis are adept at quoting the Saudis in matters of faith, but none of them have yet inquired where Pakistan’s nitaqat programme is. What is our Vision 2030?

The writer is an attorney teaching constitutional law and political philosophy.

rafia.zakaria@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2021

PAKISTAN

Imran Khan — once cricketer, now prime minister, unbudgeable rape apologist?




IMAGES EDITORIAL


The premier clarified his opinions on rape and temptation and it confirmed what everyone already knew — he's a rape apologist.

Well Captain, you've done it again. Despite your ministers, avid supporters and other party members scrambling to defend you the last time you were a rape apologist, you've proven that you do indeed blame women for rape.

You didn't let anyone change your mind — not public outcry, not international horror, not even your supporters twisting your words to mask your meaning. And this time, you spoke in English, leaving no room for ambiguity.

We would commend you for staying true to yourself if only the words you uttered weren't so problematic.

Women across Pakistan can rest assured that if someone rapes them, our prime minister will say it was the fault of "temptation", not the rapist. Would the same apply to children?

In an interview to Jonathan Swan for Axios, the premier was asked about his earlier comments about temptation, women's dressing and men's "willpower” — and how he was accused of rape victim blaming.

Imran, brushing it off as nonsense, said the concept of purdah is to avoid temptation in society. But then he went on to explain how Pakistan's society works and this where he lost the plot.

"We don’t have discos here, we don’t have nightclubs, so it is a completely different society, way of life here, so if you raise temptation in society to the point and all these young guys have nowhere to go, it has consequences in the society."

The interviewer point-blank asked him if what women wear has any effect. This is where our premier really went off track.

"If a woman is wearing very few clothes it will have an impact, it will have an impact on the men, unless they’re robots. I mean it’s common sense."

Is it common sense, PM Imran? Do you think men are so weak and out of control that the slightest show of skin will send them into a violent sexual fit?

When questioned if women's clothes would really provoke acts of sexual violence, the premier instead of saying "No, rape is not provoked", he said: "It depends on which society you live in. If in a society where people haven’t seen that sort of thing, it will have an impact on them."

There you have it folks, our prime minister in all his glory.

If you still have doubts about whether the premier is a rape apologist, let us disabuse you of that notion.

A rape apologist is someone who excuses, condones or justifies rape. When PM Imran says women wearing "very few clothes" will have an impact on men, he's saying men will rape you if you don't wear the clothes they want you to. To our Oxford- educated prime minister, clothes "provoke" rape. What then were the children and animals who were raped in Pakistan wearing, we ask.

Clearly, he must have an answer for that.

Men are not robots, he said, as if any sane man would attack a woman based on her clothes. If you weren't insulted before, you should be now. Imran Khan seems to have little respect for rape victims and it seems he doesn't think much of men either. He believes that men can't help it: they'll see a woman in "very few clothes" and attack. That he sees Pakistani men as little more than animals with no impulse control speaks volumes.

And for the people who say, oh but he's talking about "very few clothes", let us ask you this: what constitutes "very few clothes"? Is it a bikini? Or jeans and a T-shirt? Or shalwar kameez without a dupatta? Or a hijab without an abaya? Or an abaya without a face covering?

We'll say it again and again and again: There is no justification for rape — not the victim's clothes, shoes, hair, style of walking, manner of talking or anything else.

He also needs to keep in mind that by pushing this problematic narrative of "young men" not having outlets for their sexual urges, he is giving rapists and harassers an excuse on a silver platter. And they are not all "young men"! As was recently proven by the Mufti Azizur Rehman sexual abuse case, rape is a crime perpetuated by anyone in a position of power.

If nothing else, the premier could have kept this harrowing case in his mind while answering questions about rape and temptation and reminded himself that though there is never a time to be a rape apologist, this is an even worse time than usual. The trauma of rape is immense and it resurges every time a rape apologist provides what in their mind constitutes as a reason for this violence.

To our prime minister we have a few heartfelt requests: 1) Think, really think, about the impact your words have on survivors of sexual assault and their families. You have reduced their pain to something as vague as temptation and don't seem to have any concrete answers as to how you plan to tackle this issue or give them justice 2) Talk to women, and really listen. Women are groped in societies which have "discos and nightclubs" and women who wear an abaya and a hijab and a veil have been subjected to sexual violence as well. Stop putting all the burden of sexual violence on women and how they dress.

If you don't know what the women of this society go through regardless of what they wear, and are going to group all men into the category of "unable to control their sexual urges", then you, Imran Khan, are not fit to represent this society that you speak of.