Pakistan Prime minister Imran Khan drew flak after he once more blamed an increase within the cases of sexual violence on how women dress within the country. "If a lady is wearing only a few clothes, it'll have an impression on the lads , unless they're robots. It’s just sense ," Imran Khan said in an interview with 'Axios on HBO'. "This is cultural imperialism. Whatever is suitable in our culture, must be acceptable everywhere else. It's not," he added.
Imran Khan's comments within the interview have caused a huge outrage on social media, with opposition leaders and journalists expressing anger and disgust against the misogynistic ideology. "Imran Khan is r*pe apologist and hates women," Anaya Khan, one among the users, tweeted with the video of the interview on the microblogging site.
Reema Omer, a legal advisor with the International Commission of Jurists, expressed disappointment after Khan reiterated his stance in victim-blaming in cases of sexual violence.
"Disappointing and admittedly sickening to ascertain PM Imran Khan repeat his victim blaming regarding reasons for sexual violence in Pakistan Men aren't “robots”, he says. If they see women in skimpy clothes, they're going to get “tempted” and a few will resort to rape," Omer said.
In April, Khan blamed "obscenity" for the increase in sexual violence cases in Pakistan during a live television interview and advised women to hide up to stop temptation. "This entire concept of purdah is to avoid temptation. Not everyone has the willpower to avoid it," he said.
Hundreds of people mobilised demanding an apology from him for his views and held a protest in Islamabad. The protestors criticised Khan for what they called "victim-blaming" and demanded an apology for the comment.
As many as 11 rape incidents are reported in Pakistan a day in November 2020, with over 22,000 cases reported within the last six years. However, the conviction rate of those crimes is merely 0.03 per cent, as only 77 of the accused are convicted till then, ANI reported citing Pakistan's official data.
