KARACHI, 9 March 2006 — A nongovernmental organization Madadgaar Help Line (MHL) said yesterday that around 4,769 cases of women abuse were reported in 2005 across Pakistan. The report issued on the occasion of the International Women’s Day revealed that 155 cases of abused women were reported from Balochistan, 457 from NWFP, 1,245 from Sindh and 2,912 from Punjab. Cities where violence was reported were Lahore with 522 cases, Karachi with 478, Sargodha with 201, Peshawar with 157 and Gujranwala with 153 cases. Cases were filed with the authorities for 3,239 cases. More than 50 percent of the women were attacked in their homes. Meanwhile, around 3,000 people yesterday attended a rally led by a woman whose gang rape on the orders of a tribal council triggered an international outcry. The protesters, the vast majority of them women, held placards and banners and cheered Mukhtaran Mai when she appeared on a stage along with a dozen other gang-rape victims to mark the Women’s Day.
