FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AHRC-STM-047-2012

March 8, 2012

ASIA: WOMEN’S DAY— Discrimination and violence hamper gender equity

Today marks the International Women’s Day, a day to reflect on the
gains achieved by women in the respect and protection of their rights
and to denounce the places in which those rights are too frequently
trampled on. In its 1977 resolution 32/142, the United Nations General
Assembly called for the proclaiming of a UN Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace to "create favourable conditions for the
elimination of discrimination against women and for their full and
equal participation in the social development process". It is
unfortunate that discrimination and violence against women in Asia
continue to be the norm today, and that their participation in society
is both minimal and unappreciated. Discrimination is in fact
increasingly taking on a violent face, and the Asian Human Rights
Commission denounces the high rates of rape and sexual violence
prevalent in Asia. The utter neglect with which state institutions as
well as society address such issues and deal with the victims is
symptomatic of the continuous challenges Asian women face in claiming
their rights and contributing to social development.

Rape and sexual violence are widespread in Pakistan, India,
Bangladesh, Nepal and Burma, while a recent increase in such cases has
been seen in Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

While all human rights abuse victims in Asia struggle to obtain legal
redress amidst weak rule of law frameworks and corrupt justice
officials, victims of gender-based violence face the added
difficulties of discrimination and sexual stereotypes, including from
the police and the judiciary. It has been observed all over Asia that
rape victims routinely face hostility from law enforcement personnel
and the courts. In many cases the police collude with the
perpetrators to pressurize the victim to drop the case or to enter a
negotiated settlement. All of this was seen in the abduction and rape
of Pakistani teenager Uzma Ayub, who was gang-raped in captivity for
one year, before escaping in September 2011. Since then she has been
struggling to obtain justice through the courts, to little avail. Uzma
and her family faced numerous threats and settlement offers, and
finally her elder brother was murdered in December 2011. The police
and army officers involved in her abduction and rape are known, and
yet they are not being promptly held accountable.

The investigation of cases of violence against women lack
professionalism and often the police may not even inform the victim of
the need for a medical exam. When the victim does go for a medical
exam, she is likely to face a dismissive attitude from the doctors and
hospital staff, influenced by the dominant social attitude
stigmatizing rape victims. A Nepali nun who was raped in July 2011 was
initially turned away from a hospital for treatment, while her nunnery
debated whether or not she would be allowed to return.

State institutions and officials are just as guilty of harbouring
patriarchal and repressive attitudes against women as the rest of
society. These attitudes tend to place the blame for rape on the
victim herself, rather than the perpetrator. This not only allows the
perpetrators to go free, encouraging further violence, but also
contributes to a second victimization of the survivor of rape, who too
often has to face a hostile attitude from her community. Judges,
particularly of the lower judiciary, have largely not been trained or
sensitized to gender issues and their way of dealing with such cases
often causes further humiliation for victims. Reports from various
Asian countries detail rape victims having been publicly
cross-examined in court and forced to describe the rape in details,
with male judges using insensitive and humiliating words in the
process. In other words, rather than protecting women’s fundamental
rights, the police and judiciary are turning themselves into
instruments to perpetuate traditional discriminatory and repressive
views against women.

As a result, conviction rates for reported rapes remain alarmingly
low, and seeking legal redress becomes synonymous to facing further
harassment and stigma for the victims. An overhaul of the justice and
policing systems to strengthen their capacity to work professionally
in an accountable manner is thus required. Nevertheless, it is only by
changing the perception of rape victims in the society, by addressing
dominant discriminatory views against women, that women’s access to
justice can genuinely be increased. This includes gender-sensitive
training for all public officials, as well as education and awareness
within the larger society regarding education for girls and equal
opportunities for both genders.

Despite the high rates of violence against women, this issue is
largely not understood as a priority, often subsumed in discussions of
national security, economic development or other issues. Until
discrimination and violence against women is conceived as an integral
part of the human rights movement, there will be little change in the
ground reality facing women in Asia and many other parts of the world.

Sexual violence prevents women from realizing many other rights,
slows their journey to emancipation and makes gender equity a distant
dream. Fears of facing violence in public areas, followed by societal
attitudes blaming victims of rape for their abuse, work to confine
women to their homes. How can women participate in the economy and
politics, a springboard to ensure their capacity to protect their
rights, if they are at risk and then blamed for doing so? It is
crucial for such blame and condemnation to be shifted to the
perpetrator, while the survivors are ensured support and justice.

The Asian Human Rights Commission recalls that the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women mandates
state parties to "modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct
of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of
prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on
the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes
or on stereotyped roles for men and women". To eradicate rape,
violence and discrimination against women from Asian societies, a
comprehensive strategy of modification of societal patterns and
structures fuelling prejudice and stereotypes are necessary and the
incapacity of law enforcement institutions to protect the women from
sexual violence must be addressed in priority. Only then can women
truly realize their potential and participate in society’s
development. With the poor state of many of Asia’s societies, surely
the participation of women will be akin to tapping much needed
resources.