medical student was humiliated in Faisalabad for refusing a marriage proposal.

According to local police, Sheikh Danish abducted the woman, beat her up and forced her to lick the shoes of his daughter. He also recorded the incident on his phone. A video showing the incident later went viral of social media.

Police have arrested the suspect and his guards.

“The guards abducted the medical student from her home in Faisalabad. They cut her hair for rejecting the marriage proposal sent by Sheikh through his daughter,” police said. “I was abducted, tortured, humiliated and filmed for rejecting the proposal to marry my friend’s father,” she later told the media in an interview.

Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi has taken notice of the matter and sought a report from police.

According to the police, torture has been established in the medical report. The report says fractures were detected on the victim’s eyes, nose, face and fingers.

“The security guards abducted the medical student from her home in Faisalabad. They cut her hair for rejecting the marriage proposal sent by Sheikh through his daughter,” police said.

When the main suspect was presented before a court, a group of lawyers tried to beat him up. However, the police hurried him away.

“Different face, same name! My heart aches, details as they unfold are petrifying. No matter how influential the perpetrators of such crimes are, justice must be done. With Khadija all the way,” said Khadija Siddiqui, another survivor of violence a few years ago, wrote on her timeline. Siddiqui, then a law student, was stabbed several times for rejecting a marriage proposal.

Several human rights groups have condemned the incident. The Human Rights Watch report for the last year indicates that violence against women and girls, including rape, murder, acid attacks, domestic violence, and forced marriage is increasing in the country. The laws are there but they are hard to enforce on account of the weak political will and a compromised criminal justice system. Human rights defenders blame a lack of seriousness on the part of the government and weak enforcement implementation of laws for the increase in such violence. There is a need for serious and persistent efforts to change the mindsets through education, awareness and uncompromised enforcement of the law.

The writer is a staff reporter.   He can be reached at  vaqargillani@gmail.com.   He tweets at @waqargillani