Shazia Khalid
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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 2005 Dr. Shazia was an employee of
Pakistan Petroleum Limited Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) ( ur, ) is a Pakistani state-owned petroleum company. It was incorporated on 5 June 1950, when it inherited the assets and liabilities of the Burmah Oil Company Ltd. which initially holds 70% of the share with t ...
(PPL), and working at the company's Sui hospital for the past 18 months while living alone in accommodation provided by PPL. Security services for the entire facility were provided by the Defence Services Group (DSG). She had taken the job only after PPL had also promised a job for her husband. The job, however, never materialized.


Rape

On the night of 2 January and in the early morning hours of 3 January 2005, Dr. Shazia was awoken by somebody pulling her hair. She was then strangled with a cord, threatened, blindfolded, pistol-whipped, beaten, and repeatedly raped by a masked intruder, at Sui,
Dera Bugti Dera Bugti ( Balochi and Urdu: ) is a district within the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It was established as a separate district in 1983. Administration The district is administratively subdivided into Four sub-divisions, these are: * Pirko ...
, in the heavily guarded government-owned natural gas plant. She was severely injured in the attack but managed to cut her hands free of the cord and sought help from a nurse, Sakina, at the nearby nursing hostel. Sakina then informed the administration of PPL and the DCMO; the medical staff on duty, Dr. Mohammad Ali, Dr. Irshad, Dr. Saima Siddiqui, nurse Firdous and Salimullah visited Dr. Shazia. Her pleas to contact her husband (who was working in Libya at the time) and her family was ignored.Rape victim under pressure to keep mum
/ref> Instead of treating her medically, officials were said to have drugged her into unconsciousness with sedatives for three days to keep her quiet and then transferred her to a
psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociat ...
, Asghar Psychiatric Hospital, in
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
.


House arrest

Her husband, Khalid, in Libya at the time, rushed back to Pakistan to be reunited with his wife. With his support, Shazia reported the crime.Shazia Khalid – Twice Violated
/ref> Following the report, for a period of 2 months, she was put under house arrest in a house in Karachi under the "unofficial protection" of the police, army and Musharraf officials and was not allowed access to doctors, lawyers or visitors of her choice. In addition, the crime scene and anything that could be considered as evidence, including the clothes of Dr. Shazia, were tampered with or destroyed. When her family was informed some days later, Dr. Shazia and her family were told to keep quiet and dissuaded to register the rape case or speak to the media by the PPL Company representatives, who denied the rape to the media.Shazia Khalid and the fight for justice in Pakistan
/ref> Her husband Khalid said, his grandfather demanded that Khalid divorce her, because he felt, her rape had rendered her a stain on the family honour. Khalid refused. So the grandfather assembled a mob to kill Shazia. Her case led to a violent uprising by the
Bugti Bugti ( bal, بُگٹی ) is a Baloch tribe found in eastern Balochistan, Pakistan. , it was estimated to comprise over 180,000 people, mostly living in the Dera Bugti region of Pakistan. They are in turn divided into the Rahija,Marhita, Perozani, ...
tribe in Baluchistan province, disrupting the supply of gas to much of the country for several weeks. By some accounts, up to 10,000 soldiers and police were brought in to quell the rebellion. As the Pakistani authorities attacked the Bugti, President Musharraf promised that the tribesmen would "not know what hit them." and attacks on the Bugti tribesmen were intensified.Musharraf’s Rape Cover-Up
/ref> An unusual development occurred, when the then Pakistani President
Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...
entered the controversy, stating on national television, that the accused officer, named as Captain Hammad, was "not guilty", which led to criticism of Musharraf, a military man himself. Both politicians as well as Pakistani human rights lawyer,
Asma Jahangir Asma Jilani Jahangir ( ur, , ''ʿĀṣimah Jahāṉgīr''; 27 January 1952 – 11 February 2018) was a Pakistani human rights lawyer and social activist who co-founded and chaired the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Jahangir was known ...
voiced their criticism and concerns following the statement.


Threats

In an interview with the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, Dr. Shazia said that she was threatened many times. "I cannot tell you how many times I was threatened. My life was made impossible. I am still terrified." "My whole career was destroyed, as was my husband's. That was why we left our country." "Instead of getting justice, I was hounded out of Pakistan. I never wanted to leave Pakistan, but had no choice." Dr. Shazia and her husband alleged that the authorities threatened them and ordered them to leave the country.


Exile

On 18 March 2005 Shazia and her husband, Dr. Shazia, left Pakistan on a flight to London,
The United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. She applied for asylum in Canada, where she has relatives, but her application was refused. In August 2005
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
columnist
Nicholas D. Kristof Nicholas Donabet Kristof (born April 27, 1959) is an American journalist and political commentator. A winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, he is a regular CNN contributor and an op-ed columnist for ''The New York Times''. Born in Chicago, Kristof wa ...
wrote several articles about Dr. Shazia's story and urged readers to write to the Canadian minister of citizenship and Immigration asking the Canadian government to reconsider. As of 26 September 2005, Dr. Shazia was still stranded in the UK awaiting the result of her application for asylum in the UK. She expressed great regret in being forced to leave her country, her adopted son and family, her career and life behind for a future unknown.


Coverage

Dr. Shazia Khalid's story is covered in
Terence McKenna Terence Kemp McKenna (November 16, 1946 – April 3, 2000) was an American ethnobotanist and mystic who advocated the responsible use of naturally occurring psychedelic plants. He spoke and wrote about a variety of subjects, including ...
's documentary about sexual violence in Pakistan, '' Land, Gold and Women''. In the interview with McKenna Shazia was quoted saying "I did not get justice and I will regret that for the rest of my life" on 28 February 2006.


Aftermath

Shazia Khalid has since become a spokesperson about the social and legal challenges women face in Pakistan today and advocate of women's human rights. Another rape case was reported in September 2008, where a widow resident named, Firdaus Bibi, was gang-raped in the Pakistan Petroleum Limited Colony at Sui and a case was registered against nine officials of the PPL and Defence Security Guards (DSG) in this connection according to the police sources from
Dera Bugti Dera Bugti ( Balochi and Urdu: ) is a district within the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It was established as a separate district in 1983. Administration The district is administratively subdivided into Four sub-divisions, these are: * Pirko ...
.Widow raped in Sui
/ref>


See also

*
Mai Jindo Mai Jindo (born 1942) was a laborer woman from Tando Bahawal whose two sons and son-in-law were killed by a Pakistan Army detachment along with seven other villagers in 1992 of farmers involved in a land dispute,. This incident also known as Tand ...
*
Mukhtaran Bibi Mukhtaran Bibi ( ur, ; born Kristof, N & Wudunn, S, (2009), "Half The Sky", Virago), now known as Mukhtār Mā'ī, is a Pakistani human rights activist from the village of Meerwala, located in the rural ''tehsil'' of Jatoi in the Muzaffargar ...
*
Kainat Soomro 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 at the age of 13 drew international attention. Kainat was steadfast in her determination to ...
*
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


External links


Dr. Shazia's Story: In Her Own Words

Amnesty International case report


Pakistan Times


Shazia Khalid and the fight for justice in Pakistan

Video interview with BBC Urdu Service
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khalid, Shazia 1973 births Living people Pakistani Muslims Pakistani medical doctors Pakistani women medical doctors Rape in Pakistan People from Sindh Pakistan military scandals Violence against women in Pakistan