Two men allegedly raped a middle-aged woman in front of her daughters during a robbery at a house located in Peoples Colony near Raja Chowk, Faisalabad.
According to Batala Colony police, the two suspected robbers broke into the house and sexually assaulted the woman -- who is a labourer by profession -- before managing to get away with Rs200,000 and other valuable items.
ARY News reported that the police have registered an FIR against the suspects named Iftikhar and Ramazan. According to a police official, the suspects had also threatened the woman with dire consequences if she went to the police. They reportedly said they would 'rape and kill' her daughters.
The incident came a day after five men sexually abused a girl after kidnapping her from Jhang Road in Faisalabad area of the Punjab province.
In the wake of several rape cases across Pakistan over the past month, there has been an increase in the sale of self-defence weapons, such as pepper sprays, pocket knives and stun guns.
A report published on Geo News said that social media users, mostly women, are searching for stories that sell non-lethal weapons as they seek to protect themselves from potential predators.
Amid an increasing demand, the stores have also started refilling their stocks.
“It is probably for the first time in decades that we are selling pepper sprays at our store — that too, after scores of women, especially young girls of school-going age, asked for this item in particular at our counters,” Geo quoted a mart owner in Karachi’s Saddar area as saying.
A manager at an online store told Geo that the sales spiked by 50 per cent — at least a hundred units a day. “People are now purchasing these items in bulk, indicating a rising panic among the general public,” he told the outlet.
Police said the woman, a resident of Gujranwala, was returning to the city from Lahore on Tuesday night when her car ran out of petrol.
Geo News reported that the woman called her husband, who advised her to call Motorway Police for help until he got there. However, the Motorway Police operator excused from helping the woman, saying the emergency beat had not been assigned to anyone.
As she was left to her own devices on the deserted road, two armed men approached the vehicle and smashed its windows. They then took the woman and her children out of the car and took them into a nearby field after cutting the fence along the road to rape her. The report said the woman was also deprived of Rs100,000, jewelry, and ATM cards.
Human rights activists and people from civil society in major cities of Pakistan, including Karachi held demonstrations against the incident. People demanded of the government to take measures in order to control such brutal and barbaric elements from the society.
Aurat March Lahore along with other progressive outfits also arranged a protest at Lahore’s Liberty Chowk. Their demands included structural reform of police that focuses on accountability and transparency to the most vulnerable members of the community, immediate measures to improve the safety of public spaces without employing paternalistic measures such as curfews, and an introduction of victim and witness protection programmes.
According to Batala Colony police, the two suspected robbers broke into the house and sexually assaulted the woman -- who is a labourer by profession -- before managing to get away with Rs200,000 and other valuable items.
ARY News reported that the police have registered an FIR against the suspects named Iftikhar and Ramazan. According to a police official, the suspects had also threatened the woman with dire consequences if she went to the police. They reportedly said they would 'rape and kill' her daughters.
The incident came a day after five men sexually abused a girl after kidnapping her from Jhang Road in Faisalabad area of the Punjab province.
Increase in demand for pepper spray:
In the wake of several rape cases across Pakistan over the past month, there has been an increase in the sale of self-defence weapons, such as pepper sprays, pocket knives and stun guns.
A report published on Geo News said that social media users, mostly women, are searching for stories that sell non-lethal weapons as they seek to protect themselves from potential predators.
Amid an increasing demand, the stores have also started refilling their stocks.
“It is probably for the first time in decades that we are selling pepper sprays at our store — that too, after scores of women, especially young girls of school-going age, asked for this item in particular at our counters,” Geo quoted a mart owner in Karachi’s Saddar area as saying.
A manager at an online store told Geo that the sales spiked by 50 per cent — at least a hundred units a day. “People are now purchasing these items in bulk, indicating a rising panic among the general public,” he told the outlet.
Rape on motorway:
Earlier this month, a woman was allegedly raped by two men in front of her children after her car ran out of gas near Gujjarpura, Lahore.
Police said the woman, a resident of Gujranwala, was returning to the city from Lahore on Tuesday night when her car ran out of petrol.
Geo News reported that the woman called her husband, who advised her to call Motorway Police for help until he got there. However, the Motorway Police operator excused from helping the woman, saying the emergency beat had not been assigned to anyone.
As she was left to her own devices on the deserted road, two armed men approached the vehicle and smashed its windows. They then took the woman and her children out of the car and took them into a nearby field after cutting the fence along the road to rape her. The report said the woman was also deprived of Rs100,000, jewelry, and ATM cards.
Protests against incident:
Human rights activists and people from civil society in major cities of Pakistan, including Karachi held demonstrations against the incident. People demanded of the government to take measures in order to control such brutal and barbaric elements from the society.
Aurat March Lahore along with other progressive outfits also arranged a protest at Lahore’s Liberty Chowk. Their demands included structural reform of police that focuses on accountability and transparency to the most vulnerable members of the community, immediate measures to improve the safety of public spaces without employing paternalistic measures such as curfews, and an introduction of victim and witness protection programmes.