A women crying for justice in Haripur, Pakistan

NIDDERAU, GERMANY: This is with reference to your editorial of June 16 titled “Crying for justice”. It talks of the plight of a woman in Haripur who was stripped of her clothes and made to march naked in a village street.

We all know that violence against women is widespread in Pakistan.

According to a recent survey by the Thomson Reutuers Foundation, Pakistan stands at number three in the list of countries where women receive the worst treatment. We are in the habit of reporting the status of women on individual cases, instead of reforming the laws of the country and trying to remove the basic flaws.

What we need to do is to change all laws that are discriminatory towards women.

In addition to this, we need to change attitudes towards women as well, and this is the case not only for how men see and treat women but also how women see and treat other women.

For example, a typical Pakistani woman’s woes start first within the family, where she is given to understand that boys have all the rights and that hers will always come second. Justifying such treatment with culture and faith is wrong.

It is obvious to see that countries where women (and other minorities) are treated with respect are the wealthiest, happiest places on our planet.

Sharif Lone

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19th, 2011.