Images

'Sickening': Netizens aghast after video of women being stripped, assaulted in Faisalabad surfaces

'Sickening': Netizens aghast after video of women being stripped, assaulted in Faisalabad surfaces

Five men were arrested on charges of assaulting, stripping and filming four women in a market on Monday.
08 Dec, 2021

Days after a mob in Sialkot lynched a Sri Lankan factory manager, netizens were left shocked yet again after videos of several women being assaulted, stripped and filmed in a market in Faisalabad surfaced on social media. Many took to Twitter to express their horror and disgust over the incident and questioned whether society was "on the verge of moral bankruptcy", given that the incident is one of many instances of mob violence that have occurred recently.

An FIR was lodged by one of the assaulted women at the Millat Town police station, stating she was collecting solid waste with her three companions on Monday at around 10:30am in the Bawa Chak Market, Yousaf Chowk, when she felt thirsty and went inside a shop — Usman Electric Store — owned by a man named Saddam and asked for a bottle of water.

She said Saddam got annoyed and yelled at them and alleged that they entered his shop to steal money and electronic appliances. She stated that Saddam also called other shopkeepers and his helpers, who started beating them. The complainant alleged that the suspects also stripped them and dragged them through the market.

Several videos of the assault circulated on social media and led to widespread rage and shock online.

"A couple of women were stripped naked and beaten up by a bunch of men in Faisalabad. Other men, standing by, kept filming the incident on their phones. Horrible, sickening and disgusting," tweeted a user.

"Another day, another incident of mass violence," shared another.

For this user, the incident was not "a law enforcement issue" but rather a "symptom of a deeply sick society". They also questioned the "insensitivity" shown by the Punjab Police by retweeting the video of the assault without censoring the content or concealing the identities of the women.

Digital rights activist Nighat Dad also called upon law enforcement authorities to "maintain the dignity and privacy" of survivors, whether "women or other vulnerable individuals" by not sharing videos that reveal the identities of the assaulted.

Actor Adnan Siddiqui called for the need of introspection by society to gauge why such horrific incidents of mob violence towards women keep occurring. On August 14, a woman was sexually assaulted by over 400 men in an act of mob violence at Lahore's Greater Iqbal Park.

Users expressed concern over how acts of mob violence are now increasingly being perpetrated and reported.

"The Sialkot, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad incidents, and others that happened in the recent past, point to the social rot of our society which does not seem to have an end," posted a user. In November, the Federal Investigation Agency arrested a four-member gang, including two personnel of the Punjab Police, involved in sexually harassing two teenage girls and filming them in Rawalpindi.

"Charsadda, Sialkot and now Faisalabad all in the space of 10 days. Make no mistake, the rule of the mob is here to stay," shared an enraged user. On November 29, hundreds of people were booked for setting a Charsadda police station on fire.

"Such actions are the result of a mentality that treats women as nothing more than objects," shared MNA Mohsin Dawar, who condemned the incident and demanded that the perpetrators "be tried to the fullest extent of the law".

One user questioned how much worse it must be for women who are victims of sexual assault "behind closed doors" if this is what is happening to women publicly.

Punjab IGP Rao Sardar Ali Khan said the suspects involved in the incident did not deserve any sympathy. He said the police had arrested all the suspects involved in the incident and further legal action was being taken against them.

While it is crucial that authorities take strict action against the perpetrators of such violence, it is important there be societal introspection as well, as highlighted many netizens on social media.

Many users online are arguing that the women were thieves and had the intention of the robbing the store. But even if that argument were to be considered, it doesn't justify stripping them naked and assaulting them. If there were suspicions that they were thieves, the authorities should have been summoned. There is nothing that can justify this — or any other kind of — violence.

This year has proven time and time again that Pakistan is not safe for women. The country has played witness to several horrifying cases of sexual assault against women, reported and otherwise. The latest incident in Faisalabad has left women feeling unsafe and vulnerable in a country they call their own. While it is crucial that the authorities take strict action against the perpetrators of such violence, it is also imperative that we consider why so many people are justifying the assault and where we as a nation have gone wrong.

Comments

M. Saeed Dec 08, 2021 04:44pm
We are fast developing in to savage society of no concerns. Something nasty for such savages must be discovered to make them human.
Recommend (0)
ahmed Dec 08, 2021 05:01pm
Now that the real cctv footages have shown that it was indeed the women themselves who strip to escape arrest (infact it is their go-to tactic whenever caught) do you have the courage to correct the title?
Recommend (0)
Mazhar Ali Khan Dec 08, 2021 05:02pm
What we are doing? What is happening to us & what kind of nation we to become? Please wake up & behave like normal human's. We have tremendous responsibility on our shoulders as a citizen & as Muslim.
Recommend (0)
Aruj Dec 08, 2021 05:08pm
Land of the pure.
Recommend (0)
Aruj Dec 08, 2021 05:09pm
Punjab police retweeted the video without any censor. High iq geniuses.
Recommend (0)
Rashid Dec 08, 2021 05:26pm
Did DAWN check all the facts before publishing this story? Those women put off their clothes themselves as visible in many videos.
Recommend (0)
Sameer Dec 08, 2021 05:31pm
Shocking. That media immediately took side of the women ,where as obviously they were trying to rob the poor guy and tore their own clothes as soon as they were caught.
Recommend (0)
Gulab Dec 08, 2021 05:43pm
More videos have emerged showing women entering the shop to steal and they were taking their own clothes off and ripping their own clothes as they got caught stealing. The videos clearly show women trying to steal in the store, they lied that they went in to get water. From the videos it seems that the men were trying to keep them in shop until police arrived. There are a few videos showing women taking their own clothes off and ripping clothes of each other. The men should go free while the women should be charged with stealing, indecent exposure, economic loss to vendors, lying to police.
Recommend (0)
Malz Dec 08, 2021 06:08pm
Rotten society and morally dead as a nation.
Recommend (0)
LgbtqX Dec 08, 2021 06:28pm
Welcome to naya Pakistan!
Recommend (0)
Naveed Dec 08, 2021 06:29pm
Watch the whole video from cctv camera. These women were thieves. They have been treated the way they deserved. Next time chop the hands of the thief off.
Recommend (0)
Shahid S Dec 08, 2021 06:40pm
Why are these kind of incidents happening mainly in Punjab????
Recommend (0)
Ahsan Gul Dec 08, 2021 06:46pm
@Mazhar Ali Khan when these goons are financed by opposition parties to disrupt current government policies then incidents of these types happened! Police cannot do anything as these criminals have back bones and support! Sincerely
Recommend (0)
Ahmad Gul Dec 08, 2021 06:47pm
Don't you think that you are telling a half truth. Have a look on cctv footage.
Recommend (0)
Riyazatepudina Dec 08, 2021 07:20pm
Naya pakistan!
Recommend (0)
Ibrahim S Dec 08, 2021 07:30pm
If you turn back the clock, you will be mortified to see the continuation of the same atrocities. Corrupt and incompetent leadership like to make passionate statements, appeasing the religious mafia and the establishment
Recommend (0)
M. Saeed Dec 08, 2021 08:24pm
@ahmed If that is the case, it is an abject misuse of general public respect for the women folks, even if they are at fault.
Recommend (0)
Uzair Dec 08, 2021 08:36pm
@ahmed yes one of top talk show host posted a video containing the CCTV footage that negate the claim of stripping, confirm the claim of stealing, and confirm the act of them getting beaten. A sad incident sure, but not as one sided as was reported earlier.
Recommend (0)
Zubair Ahmed Dec 09, 2021 02:29am
Brother Ahmed is so right. At least in this incident there is & should not be any doubt that onus of the complete drama falls onto the women. After seeing the unedited CCTV footage no one should have any ambiguity in the whole game plan by these women.
Recommend (0)
Nadeem Dec 09, 2021 03:18am
Why all these animal behaviours have concentrated mostly in one province? Have we forgotten the immoral episodes of Qasoor? When will the society wake up; perhaps at a point of no return!
Recommend (0)
Abid Ali Dec 09, 2021 09:57pm
Why are women always right? Why to take side of women even before the reality being unearthed? These all four women are serial thieves; they had made the life of shopkeepers of that market miserable and unhinging. Women stripped themselves of in order to get sympathy and chance to escape.
Recommend (0)
Laila Dec 09, 2021 11:55pm
Some of you have already taken on the role of the judge and jury. So let's look at the facts: "Punjab Women Protection Authority’ Chairperson Fatima Chadher arrived in Faisalabad upon the directives from Chief Minister Usman Buzdar. She said that ONE OF THE WOMEN has admitted to tearing off her clothes. “We are taking up the case because of the inhumane treatment meted out to these women,” said Chadher. Faisalabad City Police Officer Dr Abid Khan said that EVEN IF THE WOMEN WERE ROBBERS, THE FACT CANNOT JUSTIFY THE VIOLENCE . Police have registered a case against the women as well but have not released the five shopkeepers arrested on Tuesday. The case has been registered under sections 354-A, 509, 147, and 149 of the Pakistan Penal Code. " So how about obwesving law and leave it to the police and courts to decide whether they are thieves and guilty.
Recommend (0)
Shahid Mahmood Dec 10, 2021 06:52am
Only if you had seen the CCTV footage which came out yesterday. You all would have been astonished to watch the ladies, while caught stealing from a shop and were held back by the shop owner who at the same time called the neighboring shopkeeper, the women tore off their own clothes and started shouting for help. It is all on two CCTV footage and is circulating on Twitter.
Recommend (0)