The Federal Investigation Agency in Pakistan has registered cases against 36 people accused of spreading misinformation about a rape case on social media. Authorities have denied that an assault occurred and are urging people to share any information about the alleged incident. Protests have erupted at the college where the woman was allegedly raped, with students demanding justice and expressing disbelief in the college and police’s changing positions on the matter. Student unions in Pakistan have been banned since 1984, leading some to call for an end to the ban as a potential solution to resolving such cases without violence. Cases of sexual abuse at educational institutions are said to be common in Pakistan, with concerns raised about the handling of such sensitive matters by Pakistani police and the media. A rights group reported over 7,000 rape cases in Pakistan in 2023, mostly in Punjab, the country’s most populous province. However, due to social stigmas that discourage women from seeking help, the actual number of cases may be higher. The recent protests come on the heels of another rape incident during a polio vaccination drive in Sindh province, where a woman was gang-raped and subsequently thrown out of her house by her husband for tarnishing the family name.
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