Barrister Khadija Siddiqi, who was stabbed 23 times in broad daylight in Lahore, has reminded Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Umar Sheikh of what happened in her case, shutting him up for his statement blaming the motorway gang-rape survivor for travelling alone with her three kids past midnight.

“I was stabbed 23 times in broad daylight! Don’t tell us that ‘time’ is directly connected to the commission of offense!” she tweeted while also asking as to under what authority could the CCPO set “time limits” on women’s travel.

The officer, who is also supposed to be leading the investigation of the motorway rape case, is being criticised for using language that tantamounts to victim-blaming.

RELATED STORIES

“I am shocked… you are a mother of three and the only driver late at night… [she] should have taken the GT [Grand Trunk] Road instead, which is densely populated,” CCPO Sheikh had said while speaking to Dunya News.

He went on to say that the woman should “at least have checked her fuel before taking the motorway”.

THE INCIDENT:

On Tuesday night, it was reported that two robbers had gang-raped a mother of three on the Motorway within Gujjarpura police’s jurisdiction.

The woman, along with her three children, was driving to Gujranwala in her car when she was forced to stop at the Gujjarpura section of the Motorway after running out of fuel at around 1:30 am. She immediately called a relative and sent him her location. He asked her to also dial the Motorway Police helpline 130 but she was reportedly refused help.

In the meantime, two robbers approached the car, broke the window and took the woman and her children to nearby bushes where they raped her repeatedly in front of the children. They also snatched her purse that had cash around Rs100,000, one bracelet, car registration and three ATM cards. 

The Gujjarpura police have registered a case, while motorway police spokesperson said they had not been able to take action as the incident did not occur in the limits of Motorway Police.