In another example of patriarchal honour, a Pakistani woman’s legs were chopped off by her father and uncle after she filed for divorce to end an abusive marriage, Geo News reported.
In patriarchal societies, violence has been used as a social mechanism to perpetuate the oppression of women.
The woman, named Sobia Batool Shah, told police that her leg was chopped off because she sought a divorce from her husband, who was violent, lazy and did not take responsibility for her family.
This extremely horrific act of violence took place in Gull Town, leaving the victim with severe physical and psychological trauma, potentially leaving him with permanent disabilities and possibly never walking again.
According to Geo News, Sobia’s father, Syed Mustafa Shah, and her uncles, Syed Qurban Shah, Ehsan Shah, Shah Nawaz and Mustaq Shah, who were armed with an axe, injured her and fled the scene, leaving her crying for help in a pool of blood.
As soon as police reached the spot, Sobia was rushed to Nawab Shah Hospital.
The woman further told police that her husband regularly abused her and neglected to provide for her and their two children, leaving her to languish alone in Karachi.
According to a Geo News report, Sobia had repeatedly complained about her plight to her parents but her family members turned a deaf ear to her pleas and chased her away, calling her a disgrace.
Sobia decided to escape her abusive marriage and filed for divorce, which led to her father and uncles confronting her.
Police said Sobia’s parents were enraged and accused her of tarnishing the family’s reputation by filing a case against her husband, and when she refused to drop the case, they attacked her with an axe, Geo News reported.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Naushahro Feroz immediately took notice of the incident and ordered the local station chief (SHO) to bring all the suspects to justice and ensure the safety of the victim.
Following the instructions, police have so far arrested one suspect, Mustaq Shah, and are conducting raids to track down the remaining culprits.
Pakistani society is steeped in patriarchal values that dictate the subordinate status of women. Patriarchal control over women is exercised through restrictive institutionalised codes of behaviour, gender segregation and an ideology that associates family honour with feminine virtue.
Abnormal, immoral and harmful practices aimed at maintaining women in subjugated status. They are defended as cultural traditions, considered sanctified and given religious connotations. Some of the aberrant and immoral traditional practices in Pakistan include honour killings, rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, acid attacks, burning at the stake, kidnapping, domestic violence, dowry killings, forced marriages, ill-treatment in captivity and torture.
