Lahore, June 30 : Pakistani women are considered inferior beings and men here believe that it was their right to beat them, Dr Shoaib Shahid, a Pakistan-based psychologist, has said.

He said that as Pakistani media had become active, more cases of violence against women were being reported, “however even now 85 percent cases of violence are swept under the carpet”.

Other human rights activists said that poverty, loopholes in the law, and the rising frustration in the society were the main reasons behind the increasing violence against women in the country.

They said that in law, there were no provisions to stop domestic violence and it went unnoticed as women refrained from raising their voice against the violence meted out to them.

According to the experts, proper legislation was necessary to eliminate domestic violence, which was a matter of concern, reported the Daily Times.

They said that the media had brought a change in society, as a result of which the women were trying to gain equality and men were resorting to violence in an attempt to curb them from getting equal rights.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Governing Council Member Dr Mehdi Hasan said that frustration had increased violence against women, as men were more powerful than women and vented out their frustration by beating them. “Domestic violence is an old phenomenon and should be curbed by implementing laws. Female parliamentarians should take special note of it and play a role to eliminate it. The fabric of society has weakened over the past few years and social workers and the government should come forward to address these issues,” the paper quoted him as saying.

Punjab University Gender Studies Department Director Dr Muhammad Hafeez said: “The movement of gender equality is a phenomena that started in the West and is now affecting the world including Pakistan and issues like violence against women are being created deliberately by male chauvinists to stop women from getting their rights.”
(ANI)