Home / News / Urgent Appeals / PAKISTAN: Police protection continues for teachers accused of gang raping their students
 

PAKISTAN: Police protection continues for teachers accused of gang raping their students

October 30, 2009

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-145-2009



30 October 2009
------------------------------------------------------
PAKISTAN: Police protection continues for teachers accused of gang raping their students

ISSUES: Rape; child abuse; violence against women; impunity
------------------------------------------------------

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that senior police officials are preventing an investigation into the alleged gang rapes of female students by a group of teachers. The family of one victim is being pressured to settle outside legal channels in a feudal jirga court, despite directions from the Chief Minister of Sindh to have the accused arrested. Their case has been compromised by local police, who willfully delayed the girl's medical examination by a week. This incident shows the freedom enjoyed by Sindh police to work against the law and the public on behalf of wealthy patrons. If the accused men had been arrested after the first allegation of rape, other young girls may not have suffered the same violation. The latest victim's family is now being threatened and needs urgent protection and legal support.

CASE DETAILS:

According to information received from the victim and other local sources, Miss Asma Khand, 15, was gang raped by three of her school teachers on the morning of October 10. A fellow student and relative of the rapists lured her to a house near the school. After being invited in by the home owner, Mr. Istikhar Jatt, Asma was tied up and raped by Shoukat Jatt, Imtiaz Rajpar and Ghulam Mustafa Rajpar.

That evening at Faiz Ganj police station the head officer (SHO), Mr. Mohammad Husain Samtio, denied Asma medical treatment and refused to file a First Information Report (FIR) – as is required by law. Asma's parents have been advised by the school headmaster not to complain to the police to avoid reprisals from the teacher’s powerful landlord connections and damage to their daughter’s reputation. Allegations in the media have since suggested that the headmaster's own daughter was raped by the same men in July.

A checkup was finally authorized on 16 October after civil and student-led street protests, but a week had passed and much of the criminal evidence had gone. However the rape was confirmed and an FIR was finally filed. Yet because two of the accused had reportedly taken protective interim bail from the sessions court before their arrest, police only arrested one of the accused, Mr. Shaukat Jatt, and Istikhar Jatt, the house owner. Rape is a non-bailable offence in Pakistan, but corrupt police are often able to arrange bail for perpetrators by selecting the information given to the judge. Their bail was extended on 28 October until the 31 October.

After the FIR was filed we are told that the police misconduct grew more extreme: district police officer (DPO) Gul Mohammad Shar and several other officers tried to pressure the victim's father to take the case to a jirga, an illegal tribal court, instead. The jirga in this area is partly run by the father of two of the perpetrators.

Using a lawyer, Asma's father was able to file a constitutional petition with the Sindh High Court, where the judge has summoned the negligent officers today (30 October) to explain their actions. On October 16 the provincial chief minister also reportedly directed various officers – the Sukkur regional police officer and deputy inspector of police, and the district police officer of Khairpur Mirs – to act on the matter and report to him directly. Yet two accused rapists remain at large. Asma has had to leave the area because of threats from them and local police; officers continue to question her father on her whereabouts.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

Local media reports claim that cases of rape and abuse have been connected to these three teachers for a number of years – ever since a local bodies system was introduced that gives much more power to local representatives (mainly powerful landlords), and thus their relatives. The men were neither arrested nor removed from their positions in the school. The Rajpars are part of a powerful local family; their brothers are the chairmen of the union council and town council respectively. Local activists and parents of protesting students have said that they were threatened both by police officers and known henchmen of the landed aristocracy.

It appears that the rule of law has entirely broken down in this district, with uniformed officials paying little or no heed to it, and the high court and provincial minister unable to check their power – or that of the local landlords. In any semi-functional system strong disciplinary action would be needed along with a thorough provincial-level investigation for corruption. In this case however, it appears that corruption is so entrenched that a local investigation could not be impartial, and intervention on a higher scale is urgently required. The criminal activity and institutional weakness exposed by these events warrants a top-level probe, with a view to making sweeping, overdue reforms.

This is particularly urgent when considering the total lack of protection or redress so far being given to minors. That such impunity can be enjoyed by the known rapists of young girls for years shows the lethal stranglehold of a small group of wealthy men over a society, and its children.

The harm of Pakistan's entrenched anti-women sentiment is also brought to light in this case, with the officers and the headmaster using the fragility of the victims' reputations as an excuse not to take their attackers to court. It is clear that much more work needs to be done on this issue by the government in Pakistan, particularly in removing the stigma of rape from its victims and placing it on its perpetrators. The first step will be to hold all those accused of rape legally accountable. Any official attempting to intervene in such a case must be held criminally liable.

This year the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has logged numerous cases of police and judicial negligence in support of those who beat, rape or abduct women (among them UAC-142-2009; UAC-120-2009; UAC-108-2009; UAC-084-2009; UAC-079-2009; UAC-051-2009) We have also issued many appeals and statements exposing the criminal violence dealt out to many women by jirgas, some of which, like the case of young Taslim Solangi, who was set upon by dogs and shot by her uncle, took place in the same district.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write of your concerns to the authorities listed below, calling for the thorough investigation of the perpetrators and the police officers responsible, and the necessary legal action. Please call for all possible forms of protection, compensation and redress for the victims.

The AHRC has also written separate letters to the UN Special Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, and on the independence of judges and lawyers and the Chairperson of the committee on the rights of the child calling for intervention into this case.

To support this appeal please click here:  
------------------------------------------------------

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,


PAKISTAN: Police protection continues for teachers accused of serial gang rape

Name of victim:
Miss Asma Khand, 15, daughter of D/O Faiz Mohammad Khand; resident of village Mohammad kamil Khand, Bhango Behin Taluka Faiz Ganj, District Kairpur Mirs, Sindh.

Name of alleged perpetrators:
1. Shoukat Jatt, son of Mohammad sidique Jatt; teacher at Government High School Bhango Behin,
Bhango Behin Taluka Faiz Ganj, district Kairpur Mirs, Sindh.
2. Imtiaz Rajpar, son of Bangul Rajpar; teacher at Government High School Bhango Behin, Bhango Behin Taluka Faiz Ganj, Kairpur Mirs, Sindh.
3. Mustafa Rajpar, son of Mohammad Bux Rajpar Ghulam; Teacher at Government High School, Bhango Behin, Bhango Behin Taluka Faiz Ganj, Kairpur Mirs, Sindh.
4. Mohammad Husain Samtio
Station head officer of Faiz Ganj police station,
District Khairpur Mirs, Sindh-PAKISTAN
5. Gul Mohammad Shar, district police officer; Khairpur Mirs, Sindh province.
6. Istikhar Jatt, house adjacent to Government High School, Bhango Behin, Bhango Behin Taluka Faiz Ganj, Kairpur mirs, Sindh.
7. Miss Saima Jatt (student who lured the victim to the location of the crime), Student of class x, Government High School Bhango Behin, Bhango Behin Taluka Faiz Ganj, District Kairpur Mirs, Sindh.

Date of incident: October 10, 2009
Place of incident: Residence of Istikhar, adjacent to Government High School Bhango Behin, Bhango Behin Taluka Faiz Ganj, Kairpur Mirs, Sindh.

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the alleged police inaction into the gang rape of Miss Asma Khand, 15, by her three school teachers on October 10, 2009, and the further willful complicity of the police with those accused.

According to information I have received from the victim and other local sources, Miss Khand, was lured to the house of a Mr. Istikhar Jatt, where she was then tied up and raped by Shoukat Jatt, Imtiaz Rajpar and Ghulam Mustafa Rajpar, teachers of the government school, Bhango Behin.

I am further concerned to learn that the local DPO advised Mr Khand's family not to pursue the case, but to consult the local jiga, which is partly run by relatives of the accused. He did not authorize a medical checkup in the public hospital. A checkup was finally authorized on 16 October after civil and student-led street protests, once much of the criminal evidence had gone. However the rape was confirmed and an FIR belatedly lodged.

Yet because two of the accused had reportedly taken protective interim bail from the sessions court before their arrest, police only arrested one of the accused, Mr. Shaukat Jatt, and Istikhar Jatt, the house owner.

I understand that after Asma's father filed a constitutional petition with the Sindh High Court, the judge summoned the complicit officers to explain their actions. On October 16 the provincial chief minister also reportedly directed various officers – the Sukkur regional police officer and deputy inspector of police, and the district police officer of Khairpur Mirs – to act on the matter and report to him directly. Yet this seems to have made little different, and two of the accused men remain at large. Asma has had to leave the area due to threats from them and local police; officers continue to harass her father as to her whereabouts.

Local media reports claim that cases of rape and abuse have been connected to these three teachers for a number of years yet they were neither arrested nor removed from their positions in the school. The Rajpars' brothers are the chairmen of the union council and town council respectively. Local activists and parents of protesting students have said that they were threatened both by police officers and known henchmen of the landed aristocracy.

It appears that the rule of law has entirely broken down in this district, with uniformed officials paying little or no heed to it, and the high court and provincial minister unable to check their power – or that of the local landlords. In any semi-functional system strong disciplinary action would be needed along with a thorough provincial-level investigation for corruption. In this case however, it appears that corruption is so entrenched that a local investigation could not be impartial, and intervention on a higher scale is urgently required. The criminal activity and institutional weakness exposed by this case warrants a top level probe, with a view to making sweeping, overdue reforms.

This is particularly urgent when considering the total lack of protection or redress so far being given to minors. That such impunity can be enjoyed by the known rapists of young girls for years shows the lethal stranglehold of a small group of wealthy men over a society, and its children.

I strongly urge you to ensure that protection is provided immediately for Asma Khand and her parents, and that you to use your authority to ensure that all accused persons and complicit police officers are brought before the law.


Yours sincerely,


----------------

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1.Mr. Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani
Prime Minister
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1596
Tel: +92 51 920 6111
E-mail: secretary@cabinet.gov.pk

2. Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan
Governor of Sindh province
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 920 5043
Tel: +92 21 920 1201
E-mail: governor@governorsindh.gov.pk

3. Syed Qaim Ali Shah
Chief Minister
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 920 2000
Email: pressecy@cmsindh.gov.pk

4. Mr.Syed Mumtaz Alam Gillani
Federal Minister for Human Rights
Ministry of Human Rights
Old US Aid building
Ata Turk Avenue
G-5, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +9251-9204108
Email: sarfaraz_yousuf@yahoo.com

5. Ms. Tauqir Fatima Bhutto
Minister of women development
7th Floor, New Sindh Secretariat, Karachi, Sindh province
Fax: 92-21-99213886
Email: bhutto.tauqeer@hotmail.com


6. Chief Justice of Sindh High Court
High Court Building
Saddar, Karachi
Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9213220
E-mail: registrar@sindhhighcourt.gov.pk

7. Ms. Nadia Gabol
Minister for Human Rights
Government of Sindh,
Pakistan secretariat, Barrack 92,
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9207044
Tel: +92 21 9207043
E-mail: lukshmil@yahoo.com

8. Dr. Faqir Hussain
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9213452
E-mail: mail@supremecourt.gov.

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-145-2009
Countries :
Issues :
Document Actions
Share |
Subscribe to our Mailing List
Follow AHRC
Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.