レイプ増加は女性の服装のせい？　パキスタン首相の発言に非難殺到

【イスラマバードＡＦＰ＝時事】元クリケット選手でプレーボーイとして名をはせたパキスタンのイムラン・カーン首相が、レイプ事件の増加は女性の服装に原因があると発言し、「困惑するほどの無知」だと人権団体などから非難を浴びている。（写真は資料写真）
　英オックスフォード大学で学んだカーン氏は先週末、生放送のテレビインタビューで、レイプ事件の増加は「下品なふるまいが増えつつある社会における当然の帰結」を示していると発言した。
　カーン氏は、「女性に対するレイプ件数は（中略）実際、社会で急速に増加した」と指摘。女性に控えめな服装や男性との生活空間の隔離を求める「パルダ」という社会規範に言及し、「パルダの狙いは誘惑を防ぐことだ。誰もが誘惑を退ける意志の強さを持っているわけではない」と述べ、女性に体を覆って誘惑を避けるよう助言した。
　この発言に対し、「事実に反しており無神経で危険だ」と批判するオンライン署名には、７日までに数百人が賛同した。署名文は「責任はもっぱらレイプ犯と、レイプ犯を容認する制度にある。それには（カーン氏の）発言などによって醸成された文化も含まれる」と訴えている。
　人権団体「パキスタン人権委員会（ＨＲＣＰ）」は６日、カーン氏の発言に「がくぜんとした」と表明。「レイプがどこで、なぜ、どのようにして起きるかについて困惑するほどの無知をさらしているだけでなく、被害者に責任を負わせる発言だ。レイプ事件のサバイバーには幼い子どもも、名誉犯罪の被害者もいることを政府は知っているはずだ」と非難した。
　パキスタンは極めて保守的な国で、男女平等度ランキングは常に世界最低レベル。性暴力の被害者を疑いの目で見る傾向があり、警察に被害を訴えても本格的な捜査が行われることはまれだ。国民の大半は「名誉」を重視する社会規範を守り、一族の「恥」とされた女性が暴力を振るわれたり殺害されたりすることもある。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/04/09-12:21）

Pakistan rights campaigners have accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of baffling ignorance after the former playboy cricketer blamed how women dress for a rise in rape cases.
In a weekend interview on live television, Oxford-educated Khan said an increase in rapes indicated the consequences in any society where vulgarity is on the rise.
The incidents of rape of women... (have) actually very rapidly increased in society, he said.
He advised women to cover up to prevent temptation.
This entire concept of purdah is to avoid temptation, not everyone has the willpower to avoid it, he said, using a term that can refer to modest dress or the segregation of the sexes.
Hundreds have signed a statement circulating online Wednesday calling Khan's comments factually incorrect, insensitive and dangerous.
Fault rests solely with the rapist and the system that enables the rapist, including a culture fostered by statements such as those made by (Khan), the statement said.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent rights watchdog, said Tuesday it was appalled by the comments.
Not only does this betray a baffling ignorance of where, why and how rape occurs, but it also lays the blame on rape survivors, who, as the government must know, can range from young children to victims of honour crimes, it said.
Pakistan is a deeply conservative country where victims of sexual abuse are often viewed with suspicion and criminal complaints are rarely seriously investigated.
Much of the country lives under an honour code where women who bring shame on the family can be subjected to violence or murder.
It regularly ranks among the worst places in the world for gender equality.
Nationwide protests erupted last year when a police chief admonished a gang-rape victim for driving at night without a male companion.
The Franco-Pakistani mother was assaulted in front of her children on the side of a motorway after her car ran out of fuel.
Last year, Khan was also criticised after another television appearance where he failed to challenge a Muslim cleric's insistence that coronavirus had been unleashed because of the wrongdoings of women.
The latest controversy comes as the organisers behind International Women's Day marches battle what they have called a coordinated disinformation campaign against them, including doctored images and videos circulated online.
It has led to blasphemy accusations -- a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan where allegations have previously led mobs to attack people.
The organisers of the annual rally have called for the prime minister to intervene.
In his weekend TV appearance, Khan also blamed divorce rates in Britain on the sex, drugs and rock and roll culture that began in the 1970s, when the twice-divorced Khan was gaining a reputation in London as a playboy.