The News features a horrifying story by Shakeel Anjum, who reports:

ISLAMABAD: The irony is chilling. Even before they could bloom into flowers, teenaged flower-selling girls are being trafficked to some Middle East countries ostensibly for employment but only to be used for physical pleasure.

The poor girls, who sell flowers on Islamabad roads, are being trafficked on passports bearing fake names by a new racket as startling details of the ordeal of one such girl reaches before the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP).

[…]

The main accused Parveen lured the young flower vender to Muridke, a town near Lahore, impersonating her as real sister under the name Shama. She, later, took Nazia to Nadra centre and got her a CNIC as Shama, daughter of her (Perveen’s) own father Muhammad Shafi. Later, Nazia was issued passport on the basis of this fake CNIC. She was sent abroad and was sold for prostitution in Dubai.

[…]

“The racket has smuggled about 40 young girls to the Middle East for prostitution,” Hashmi added. The police arrested all the nominated accused — Rafaqat, resident of District Narowal, Parveen, Anees Ahmed and Allah Rakha r/o District Sheikhupura.

The gang members, during questioning, confessed Nazia was enticed by Parveen when she used to sell flowers in Saddar area and district courts area of Rawalpindi. A Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) official said the Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance (PACHTO) 2002 empowers the agency to enforce the ordinance and break into the nets of human smugglers and traffickers.

[Read the full article.]

Amal from the Arab Woman Progressive Voice writes:

Rape and war go hand in hand. That’s the lesson of history. That’s the lesson of Iraq. Iraqi women are being raped and for the most part are silent about it. The rapists, unfortunately, will get away.

When Sabreen al Janabi came forward with accusations of rape, the issue became a sectrarian one. Those who did not believe her, and in fact just issued a warrant for her arrest on the grounds that she’s has more than one husband, tarnished her reputation. Her supporters saw in her rape a violatioin of their sunni honor and slaughtered 22 men who had nothing to do with the rape in her name. Both parties were acting as if this is the first rape that ever happened. A woman’s rape is outrageous only if it fits in one group or another’s politcal agenda.

But Iraqi women are being raped. We will never know how many and their rapists, in the majority of cases, will never be punished. They will live silently with the pain and stigma.