PM Imran Khan in spotlight as Pakistan passes new rape law

In Pakistan, a new law to curb rape and sexual abuse has been making headlines.The law provides for chemical castration of serial rapists.

Pakistan is a country where the prime minister himself has been accused of sexual harassment.

In less than three months since Imran Khan floated the idea, his administration has brought it to life: serial rapists in Pakistan will be chemically castrated.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Pakistan's President Arif Alvi has signed it into law. An anti-rape ordinance was approved by Imran Khan's cabinet.

Under this law, anti-rape crisis cells will be set up to conduct medico-legal examination of rape victims within six hours of the crime. A nationwide registry of repeat sexual offenders will be set up with verdicts in rape cases to be delivered within four months of trial.

Disclosing a rape victim's identity will now be a punishable offence and repeat offenders will be chemically castrated.

Chemical castration is the practice of suppressing sexual desire in rape convicts. It involves the use of medication to reduce testosterone levels. It does not involve the removal of organs nor is it a form of sterilisation.

Pakistan's decision follows months of outcry by women over rising rape cases. In September, a woman was assaulted and raped by multiple men in front of her two children. The horrific crime sparked nationwide outrage.

"We see the government coming out for whatever the Mullahs [religious leaders] want to say, they come out and they protest and the government just listens to them," Zarka Khan, a student, said.

"You think twice about what you're going to wear when you leave, you can't walk on the street for more than five minutes without being molested by a bunch of eyes," Eiman Faisal, a student, said on the state of affairs.

The Pakistan government may have finally acted under pressure but reforming a crippled system and society is no easy task - a system where police officials blame rape victims for stepping out late at night and a society where clerics publicly shame women for the way they dress and behave.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan himself has been accused. In 2017, a PTI lawmaker Ayesha Gulalai accused Imran Khan of sexual harassment on several occasions. The lawmaker faced a wave of abuse by Imran Khan's followers as she was hounded and subsequently forced to quit the party.