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IT is sad that despite an increase in violence against women, the criminal justice
system is unable to punish the perpetrators. Now a new report by Sindh�s women
development department has highlighted the state�s extreme apathy on this count.
The report notes that 1,643 cases of violence, including honour crimes, acid
crimes, child marriages, rape and gang rape, were filed at women�s complaint cells
and at the Benazir Bhutto Centre for Women in Sindh since July 2017. But arguably,
even this figure is low for a province where horrific crimes against women are
increasing. Interestingly, the report notes only 13 cases of honour crime
(Jacobabad registered eight) in the province, whereas annual reports by independent
rights organisations state that the number runs into hundreds. This is because most
cases go unreported or are treated as natural deaths or suicides. Most importantly,
even when legal loopholes providing impunity to the perpetrators have been removed,
thanks to amendments to the anti-honour killing law, this has not translated into
justice for women. Instead, in a distressingly high proportion of cases, the
assailants go unpunished because of inadequate police and forensic investigations,
biased judges and ill-prepared state prosecutors. Consider also that only two cases
of child marriage were noted in this report. These statistics require more
clarification by the Sindh government if measures to eliminate violent crimes are
to be put into practice.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in Sindh may be ahead of their counterparts in enacting

protective legislation but they are painfully slow when it comes to its
implementation. For example, a 2015 law that set up a provincial commission on the
status of women had been lying dormant until recently. Also, the failure to ensure
that survivors have access to safe shelters and legal aid, especially when they
report risks from their families, needs to be addressed. Sindh�s lawmakers must
improve the implementation of pro-women laws and introduce the necessary reforms in
key institutions � if they are indeed committed to gender equality in all its
forms.