Kainat Soomro ( sd, ڪائنات سومرو) (born May 2, 1993 in
Mehar, Pakistan) is a Pakistani woman whose struggle to obtain justice for her
gang rape
Gang rape, also called serial gang rape, group rape, or multiple perpetrator rape in scholarly literature,Ullman, S. E. (2013). 11 Multiple perpetrator rape victimization. Handbook on the Study of Multiple Perpetrator Rape: A Multidisciplinary Re ...
at the age of 13 drew international attention. Kainat was steadfast in her determination to obtain justice against her alleged attackers.
History
In 2007, Soomro claimed that she stopped into a local store to buy a toy for her niece while walking home from school.
It was here that she alleged that she was drugged, kidnapped, and subsequently gang-raped by four men, among them a father and son.
Soomro claims to have escaped three days after being taken captive.
After receiving his daughter back into his home, Soomro's father was allegedly rebuffed by the police, and a local tribunal determined her to be ''
kari Kari or KARI may refer to:
Places
*Kari, Jhunjhunu, a village in Rajasthan, India
* , a village in Mouhoun Province, Burkina Faso
*Kari, Tikamgarh, a town in Madhya Pradesh, India
* Kari, Iran, a village in Bushehr Province, Iran
* Kari-ye Bozorg ( ...
'', a "black female", having lost her virginity outside of marriage.
Soomro was potentially subject to ''
karo kari
Honour killings in Pakistan are known locally as ''karo-kari'' ( ur, ). Pakistan currently have the top number of documented and estimated honour killings per capita of any country in the world; about 1/5 of the world's honour killings are commi ...
'', synonymous to honor killing; however, this notion was rejected by her father, brother, and mother.
Fearing the subsequent backlash of this ruling after being subject to several attacks, however, Soomro's family fled to Karachi.
Defiant of traditional norms, Soomro took her alleged perpetrators to court where the judge ultimately ruled that they were innocent, stating that "There is no corroborative evidence available on record. The sole testimony of the alleged rape survivor is not sufficient."
Kainat worked with the group WAR (
War Against Rape War Against Rape (WAR) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Karachi and founded in 1989.
Through 1979–1988 martial law was enacted in Pakistan; this led to the creation of many NGOs, including WAR. The group's mission is to publicize ...
), to try to bring her attackers to justice.
During her captivity, Kainat was supposedly married to Ahsan Thebo, one of the alleged rapists, a ceremonial tactic that is apparently often used in Pakistan to avoid the harsh penalty for rape: death. The cleric who performed the marriage claimed that she looked eighteen and that she did not appear to have been forced into the marriage. The judge upheld the marriage according to Islamic law, which still takes precedence over Pakistani law, even though she was thirteen at the time and below the age of consent according to Pakistani law. She did remember signing some unknown documents and that her thumbprints were taken at gunpoint. Pakistani law did not recognize marital rape as legitimate at the time of the trial.
None of the alleged rapists brought up the marriage when Kainat was accused of having sex outside of marriage. The judgment of the village elders was that she should be punished. Only when the men were accused and stood trial did they raise that defense. The accused believe she should be silent about her ordeal. Ahsan continued to insist that he will take her from her family.
Kainat's brother was killed a month after the court ruling, allegedly for having defended his sister during the ordeal.
The Soomro family have been subject to attack, Soomro's brother and father having been beaten by iron rods; Soomro, herself, also received death threats.
The family is currently engaged in appeals against the court's ruling.
Films
Soomro was the subject of a documentary film entitled ''
Outlawed in Pakistan'', depicting her story as an alleged rape victim. The film casts her struggle as a documentary of her and her family's struggle for justice, showcasing the subsequent losses they encounter in defying cultural conventions.
Support from the world
A
Non-profit organisation
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
the ''International Sindhi Women Organization’s'' on the day of
International Women’s Day
International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...
raised funds in
Artesia, California
Artesia (Spanish for "artesian aquifer") is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California. Artesia was incorporated on May 29, 1959, and is one of Los Angeles County's Gateway Cities. The city has a 2010 census population of 16,522. Artesi ...
to support the rape victim Kainat Soomro. Kainat Soomro was invited by
Malala
Malala Yousafzai ( ur, , , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997), is a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second Pak ...
on November 2014 to attend to the
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
award ceremony An awards ceremony is a type of ceremony where awards are given out. The ceremony may be arranged by a government organization, a society, a school, a trade association or even a company that specializes in running awards ceremonies. Typically a ma ...
and praised her struggle against injustice and her stand for her rights.
See also
*
Shazia Khalid
Shazia Khalid ( sd, شازيه خالد) ( ur, شازیہ خالد ) (born 1973) is a medical doctor and advocate of women's human rights from Sui, Pakistan.
Background
Dr. Shazia Khalid is married to Khalid Zafar, a pipeline engineer. In ...
*
Rape in Pakistan
Punishment for rape in Pakistan under the Pakistani laws is either death penalty or imprisonment of between ten and twenty-five years. For cases related to gang rape, the punishment is either death penalty or life imprisonment. DNA test and othe ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soomro, Kainat
1993 births
Gang rape in Pakistan
Honour killing in Pakistan
Incidents of violence against women
Living people
Sindhi people
Violence against women in Pakistan