ISLAMABAD:
Senators on Friday expressed deep concern over the rising incidence of violent crimes against women and demanded tougher enforcement and improved sentences after the brutal killing of a woman in Sindh, allegedly in the name of ‘honour’, sparked outrage in the Upper House.
The debate was sparked by the killing of Rubina Chandio in Sindh’s Tando Masti, as lawmakers condemned a persistent culture of impunity around gender-based violence.
Chairing the session, PPP Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman said the conviction rate in such cases was only five percent, adding that it was an alarming reflection of systemic failure.
The issue was raised by Balochistan Senator Naseema Ehsan, who drew attention to the circumstances surrounding Chandio’s killing.
“Rubina Chandio was killed in Sindh. She was neither given a funeral nor a shroud,” Ehsan told the Senate, adding that the woman was shot in front of a crowd and the case came to light after videos of the incident circulated on social media.
“The culprits involved in this brutal murder should also be publicly hanged,” she said.
Rehman called the situation “deeply worrisome and unacceptable” and said Pakistan was witnessing a “dangerous rise in honor killings, rape and other forms of gender-based violence”.
“The increase in these cases is deeply worrying. We cannot allow such brutality to become normalised,” she said.
She said the reported conviction rate of five per cent was “an extremely alarming situation”.
“When justice is delivered sporadically, it reflects a systemic failure,” she said, adding that while the legislative framework existed, “it lacks implementation with determination and consistency”.
Rehman also pushed back against the assumption that such crimes were limited to poor or remote communities.
“These crimes also occur in influential households. Wealth, status and education do not erase patriarchal thinking – often they provide stronger networks of silence and protection,” she said.
She called for continued institutional oversight, saying such cases must be “continuously and rigorously taken up by the Senate Human Rights Committee”.
“True deterrence will only come when a few perpetrators are made irrefutable examples,” she added.
In his capacity as chairman, Rehman referred the Rubina Chandio case to the Senate Human Rights Committee for immediate review.
Reacting to the debate, the Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, the lawmakers on government support to pursue accountability.
