Women Behind Bars By Aziz Sanghur

Women Behind Bars a shortage documentary, produced, directed and written by Aziz Sanghur. Mr. Sanghur is a documentary film-maker from Pakistan. The documentary shows that the violence against women in Pakistan is a major problem. women are not only subjected to financial discrimination, but they are also victims of inhuman customs and laws such as Karo Kari, Hadood ordinance, Qasas and marriage to the Quran and half witnesses according to the state law (whereby in court a female witness is only worth half a male witness). A majority of the victims of honor killings are women and the punishments meted out often tend to be lenient. The practice of summary killing of a person suspected of an illicit liaison is known as "Karo Kari" in Sindh and Balochistan. Many cases of honor killings have been reported against women who marry against their family's wishes, who seek divorce or who have been raped. Although the Child Marriages Restraint Act makes it illegal for girls under the age of 16 to be married, instances of child marriages can be found. Vani is a child marriage custom followed in tribal areas and the Punjab province. Watta Satta is a tribal custom in which brides are traded between two clans. In order for you to marry off your son, you must also have a daughter to marry off in return. If there is no sister to exchange in return for a son's spouse, a cousin, or a distant relative can also do. In some parts of Sindh, the practice of marrying a woman to Quran is prevalent among landlords, although this practice is alien to Islam and has no religious basis. The practice is often used by men to keep and grab the land of their sisters and daughters. Rape is one of the most common crimes against women but grossly underreported due to the shame attached to the victim. Many cases of sexual harassment and acid attacks have also been reported. It is used as an illegal way to punish women who are deemed to have deviated from marital norms. Marital rape is not recognized as a criminal offense in Pakistani law. Many cases of rape in police custody have also been reported. Many cases of bride burning due to dowry issues have been reported in Pakistan. The wife is typically doused with kerosene, gasoline, or other flammable liquid, and set alight, leading to death by fire. Domestic violence is not explicitly prohibited in Pakistani domestic law and most acts of domestic violence are encompassed by the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance. The police and judges often tend to treat domestic violence as a non-justiciable, private or family matter or, an issue for civil courts, rather than criminal courts. Acid throwing (acid attack or vitriolage) is a form of violent assault. Perpetrators of these attacks throw acid at their victims (usually at their faces, burning them, and damaging skin tissue, often exposing and sometimes dissolving the bones. This is the traditional, enforced buzz cutting or shaving off of a woman's head hair and sometimes her eyebrows to, as an often abused method of humiliation and chastisement. Approximately 20,000 minors were engaged in prostitution in Pakistan. A recent study indicated that major cities like Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan have large population of sex workers. Many sex workers in these cities operate from hotels or homes. Some cities have red-light districts, but due to illegal status of prostitution, many sex workers work in homes and other private facilities. There are very few identifiable traditional red-light districts in the cities in Pakistan. Prostitution in Pakistan is dispersed throughout urban areas in residential suburbs. Cities like Karachi and Lahore are major base of operation for call-girls. In Karachi, many girls take on the occupation of call-girls independently; however most girls enter into prostitution after coming into contact with a pimp. The girls share 40%--50% of their income with the pimps. Some call girls work with the pimps under a fixed monthly amount, and the pimps provide police protection, shelter and bear daily expenses. Many call girls learn dance-forms like mujar to earn more money. Most of the prostitutes operating in affluent urban areas are educated and belong to the middle-class. Affluent men in the nation may have a second or even a third wife who may be a prostitute, with whom they have had a semi-permanent sexual relationship in return for financial support. These men and women do not view their relationship in terms that of a client and a sex worker.