Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has said that provocative dressing by the female gender highly contributes to the prevalence of rape crisis in the South Asian country.
Mr Khan, during his appearance on a live television, said the spate of rape cases indicated “consequences in any society where vulgarity is on the rise.
“The incidents of rape of women… (have) actually very rapidly increased in society,” he said with justification that women dress to tempt the opposite gender, Geo News reported.
The Prime Minister who recalled when he went to the UK to play cricket, also attributed the increase in divorce rate to vulgarity.
He noted that nowadays, divorce rates “have gone up by as much as 70 per cent due to vulgarity in that society”.
While speaking on religion, the Oxford-educated politician said “this entire concept of purdah is to avoid temptation, not everyone has the willpower to avoid it,” just as he used a term that can refer to modest dress or the segregation of the sexes, the outlet reported.
The 22nd prime minister, however, said the society must also join the government in fight against the menace, while reiterating that they must protect themselves against vulgarity.
According to Mr Khan, many of the cases reported in the media are just a per cent of the actual horrific crimes of such nature that takes place.
The cricket player’s comment, however, did not sit well with detractors who accused him of “baffling ignorance” for attributing how women dress to increase in rape cases.
Hundreds have described his comments as “factually incorrect, insensitive and dangerous” in a statement signed online, The Hindu reported.
“Fault rests solely with the rapist and the system that enables the rapist, including a culture fostered by statements such as those made by (Mr. Khan),” the statement said.
“Not only does this betray a baffling ignorance of where, why and how rape occurs, but it also lays the blame on rape survivors, who, as the government must know, can range from young children to victims of honour crimes,” The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent rights watchdog said in a statement on Tuesday.
A 2020 report published by Geo News revealed that at least 11 rape incidents are reported in Pakistan every day, with over 22,000 cases reported to the police in the last six years, according to Official statistics in the country.