Girl burnt for refusing marriage proposal in Mandi Bahauddin

MANDI BAHAUDDIN: Another shameful case of gender-based violence in the country has come to the limelight as a girl was allegedly burned alive by a man for rejecting his marriage proposal in Mandi Bahauddin on Friday, police officials said.

In her statement to the police, the girl who is in her mid-twenties, said that following her rejection of the marriage proposal, Tassawur (the suspect) took her to his home by deception.

On reaching the residence, the suspect tied her hands and legs, and then set her on fire.

The neighbours immediately rushed to the site of the incident and doused the fire after hearing the desperate calls for help.

The girl was shifted to Aziz Bhatti Hospital Gujrat for immediate medical treatment. Doctors have informed that the survivor sustained 60% of the burn injuries.

The law enforcement authorities have arrested the suspect and have started investigations on the case.

Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif also took notice of the incident and sought a report from the DPO. 

He ordered the police to take action against the responsible persons and directed the administration to provide the best healthcare facilities to the girl.

Despite a number of laws passed in the national and respective provincial assemblies of the country, it appears that the laws have not deterred violence against women.

Recently in Karachi, a teenage couple in Karachi, accused of violating the Pashtun ‘code of honour’ killed with electric shocks. The murders executed by family members on the orders of a jirga of elders of the Mohmand tribe.

First to fall prey to misconstrued notions of honour was the 15-year-old girl. By the next sunrise, the 17-year-old boy too was no more.

Over the next few days, their bodies simply disappeared, buried in the dark of night. There was no mourning, no last rites and no prayers for the departed. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, in the ongoing year there have been as many as 37 reported cases of women, who were set on fire for rejecting marriage proposals.

Meanwhile, Pakistan ranked second worst country in the world for gender equality for a second year in a row by The World Economic Forum’s global gender gap report in 2016.

Pakistan stood at a dismal 143 with a 0.556 score.

The country ranked just above Yemen among 144 countries.