Sixteen-Year-Old Girl in Pakistan is Beaten and Gang Raped for a Year Before Being Turned Over to Police — Who Beat and Gang Rape Her

There is another horrific story out of Pakistan in the abuse of women and girls. In this case, Assiya Rafiq, 16, was kidnapped by a group of men who proceeded to beat and rape her for a year. When police accused them of bank robbery, the men agreed to turn over a bribe — and Assiya. The Police Chief and his officers then allegedly proceeded to rape her and accuse her of bank robbery.

We have seen how rape victims are abused around the world, particularly in Africa and the Middle East (here and here and here and here and here. Rape victims are often treated as guilty and even punished more harshly than their rapists. We also saw one recent report alleging the rape of girls on Iran’s death row, here.

What makes Assiya so amazing is that she refused to commit suicide (which was probably the expectation of these men) and instead has gone public with her plight — again forcing Pakistani society to face the systemic abuse of young girls and women.

For the full story, click here.–