Violation of women’s privacy

EDITORIAL: Authorities must urgently investigate concerns raised by the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) about ongoing surveillance of women and girls in private spaces through unregulated CCTV cameras in shelters, hostels, universities, and salons; “invading their right to privacy and dignity in private places”.

Such things have led to far too many cases of exploitation, harassment, even suicide, in the past, yet it’s clear that whatever action was taken was not enough to deter individuals and groups that systematically prey on vulnerable women.

Already, the 2023 Gender Gap report puts Pakistan at 142 out of 146 countries in terms of gender parity, including economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. That alone ought to have sufficed to make the government take notice.

But in an environment when blatant and rampant blackmail of innocent girls goes unaddressed, even in places of refuge like Darul Amaans – where the most helpless girls and women are forced to take sanctuary – there is little hope of a report, however serious, jolting anybody out of their slumber. That’s why outfits like DRF deserve all the more credit for raising their voice and bringing such issues to the public consciousness.

It is not just shocking, but also quite sickening, that innocent, helpless girls are caught on camera in compromising positions, then blackmailed and preyed upon in the most revolting manner; and they must simply live with it because the system in place to protect them – which does very much exist – just does not work. And these stories go on and on with nobody able to do anything about them, which is a crying shame.

Women are half the population, after all, hence half the workforce. Yet here we are, with the state itself just standing aside as they are not only ignored and pushed aside, but also violated in ways that would appall any sane, sensible, sensitive society.

As mentioned, we have laws in place to protect the privacy and dignity of every citizen, especially women, but those laws are either not leveraged or, worse, also misused to exploit women even further when a few of them are able to approach authorities by some miracle.

Such things serve as a severe indictment of the whole society, especially the government. It’s not as if these things are not known.

DRF and the like do the difficult yet noble job of raising awareness, so it’s not as if anybody in the right places is still in the dark about them. It’s just that the only people bothered about them are not in places of power and those that can make a difference are not willing to so much as lift a finger.

The world watches as we ignore, exploit and abuse our women and then leave them to fend for themselves. With so many women so badly marginalised, it’s no surprise that so many of Pakistan’s social and economic indicators are so bad in the red. The state can turn things around, of course, but only if it really wants to, and that’s one area where, given its performance, not many are hopeful.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024