Should animals wear modest clothes too, social media asks after goat gang-raped in Okara

Social media users are asking Prime Minister Imran Khan a hard question after the disturbing news of a goat being gang-raped by a group of men surfaced — was the animal at fault for what it wore?

According to the Express Tribune, an FIR has been filed against five men for gang-raping and killing a goat in Okara.

The disturbing news left many angered and concerned about aggressive sexual behaviours fast becoming a social epidemic that needs to be urgent addressed through education and psychological counselling. Sadly, as we all know, such steps are rarely taken in Pakistan because the root of hyper-sexuality is often linked to one thing alone — the victim's choice of clothes at the time of the assault.

Many have sarcastically questioned whether the goat should also be blamed for its lack of clothing, modest or otherwise.

Activist Shaneira Akram shared the grotesque news about the rape and sarcastically advised "viewer discretion" before a picture of a goat she posted on Instagram. "This footage contains nudity, pornography and strong sexual content that apparently may be arousing to some," she wrote.

"A goat today, what’s next tomorrow ?" Akram questioned angrily at the beginning of a long message that asserted the need for empathy, education and welfare systems that help make women and children safe in society. We need change, she urged.

Actor Mathira also shared the news of the rape on Instagram and mockingly asked whether the animal also needed to "wear an abaya" in order to escape the assault.

Many users on Twitter directed their sarcastic questions on whether the goat was immodestly dressed towards PM Imran since the premier has previously said that women's clothing creates temptation amongst men unless they're "robots".

People's bitterness has been amplified by the recent gruesome murder of Noor Mukadam, an incident that has left many women across the country scared and concerned for their safety. The PM has been criticised on social media for his continued silence on her murder.

One user shared the news of the incident and asked if "naked animals have impact on men too?"

Some users tagged the prime minister's Twitter account and asked about the goat's culpability directly.

"I want to ask PM Imran Khan how did [the goat] entice those men who were clearly not robots," another user questioned.

"Men are not robots, if goats keep roaming around, it will definitely have an impact [on men]," one user sarcastically posted.

"Shame to all those who link rape to women’s clothings and not as a serious mental illness and brutality, caused by patriarchy," one user angrily wrote.

Pakistan is still shocked from Mukadam's gruesome murder and has had no time to recover before being hit by more cases of assault. People, especially women, have protested a severe lack of empathy and concern for women's safety in the country, and have yet to see concrete action from the state.

The recent early release of Shah Hussain, who stabbed Khadija Siddiqi 23 times, has spurred public anger and left many people despondent. Hussain was released after serving just three and a half of his five-year jail term due to "technical remissions" granted for good conduct and blood donations.

We hope our government will open its eyes and its ministers do more than tweet about violence against women. The government needs to recognise that its people are crying out for safety and something to be done. Tweeting about it, isn't going to fix the situation.