Why Peshawar High Court Let Rapist Walk Away Free? Read Here

 The Peshawar High Court in Pakistan reportedly frees rapist after he agreed to marry his victim. The 23-year-old Daulat Khan, the rapist raped the woman in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Swat region in Pakistan, as per CNN reports. 

The 36-year-old had a hearing disability. The defendant's lawyer Amjad Ali Khan had stated that Khan was sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 100,000. (440 USD).

Peshawar HC Frees Rapist Daulat khan

Daulat Khan's lawyer conveyed that both the rapist and the survivor come from the same extended family. A local jirga which is a traditional council of elderly men decided the fate of the perpetrator's crime according to Sharia law. In this out-of-court settlement, it was decided that Daulat Khan would marry the woman he raped. Both the survivor and the rapist's family are reported to have reached a truce after the jirga's judgment. 

It was also revealed that the woman had given birth to a child after the rape. A paternity test proved that Daulat Khan was the father. The rapist was apprehended post this. The Peshawar court released Daulat Khan 26 Decemeber, Monday after he married the survivor.

However, the human rights activists condemn the move of the court.  Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said, "Peshawar HC's decision to free the rapist is a "miscarriage of justice" and a "gross violation of law".  Adding further they commented, “Rape is a non-compoundable offence that cannot be resolved through a feeble ‘compromise’ marriage.”

“This is effectively the court’s approval of rape and facilitation of rapists and rape mentality. It is against the basic principles of justice and the law of the land which does not recognise such an arrangement,” said Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir, a human rights activist and lawyer. 

According to the Asma Jahangir Legal Aid cell, the rate of conviction is much lower than the rate of sexual crimes that reach trial. This legal aid cell provides legal assistance to suffering women. Not only are such cases not investigated properly but also very few of them are reported owing to the social stigma attached to them. 

Suggested Reading: Delhi Rape Case: The Victim’s Parents Are Shocked By The Supreme Court’s Decision