Lahore CCPO's victim-blaming remarks are unacceptable: minister

Shireen Mazari, the federal minister for human rights, criticised Thursday Lahore CCPO Umar Sheikh for “blaming a woman for getting raped” on Lahore-Sialkot motorway last night. “For an officer to effectively blame a woman for being gang raped by saying she should have taken the GT Road or question as to why she went out in the night with her children in unacceptable,” said Mazari in a tweet. “Nothing can ever rationalise the crime of rape.” A woman was raped in front of her children by two unidentified men on the motorway early Wednesday. The men fled after the rape and stole her cash and jewellery worth Rs100,000. Related: Lahore motorway rape: 12 people taken into custody Umar Sheikh, the Lahore CCPO, appeared on Dunya News after the rape was reported and preferred to talk about the survivor’s decision to take the motorway with her children before explaining what his force was doing to apprehend the criminals. “The story is that this woman, if it is in your knowledge, left Defence at 12:30am for Gujranwala,” said CCPO Sheikh while talking to the news channel. “First, I am surprised that she, a mother of three children, chose to go without a driver. You left Defence, you [should] take the straight GT Road where there is population and go home.” The chief of Lahore police then said the woman should have checked petrol in her car before taking the longer route because there are no petrol pumps on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway.