Aurat March Karachi has termed as outrageous the statements made by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz concerning a case of rape against a student of Lahore and demanded that she should either apologize or quit. The feminist organization expressed outrage over the words of the chief minister of Punjab as “vile” and “regressive” and particularly her focus on the purity of the victim.
Maryam had dismissed the rape allegations at a press conference by claiming them to be fabricated and that the girl was innocent. She was slammed for propitiating patriarchal ideology-maintaining that the worth of a woman should be valued according to her sexual purity or lack thereof.
The Aurat March termed this as protection for perpetrators and portrayed a culture of victim blaming that prevents survivors from claiming justice.
The whole saga of rape went viral on social media and continues to breed massive protests by the students and a face-to-face with the security forces to further intensify public outrage.