Over a year after she was stabbed 23 times by the son of an influential lawyer, Khadija Siddiqui still awaits justice. Khadija’s ordeal only came to public knowledge when it was highlighted by the media as it emerged that she was going to share the examination hall with her attacker.
The attacker was identified as Shah Hussain, son of Lahore-based prominent lawyer Tanvir Hashmi. Despite the filing of the FIR within a week of the attack and evidence presented before the judiciary – including video footage which helped identify the attacker – the culprit has managed to dodge justice. The Lahore High Court (LHC) had dismissed pre-arrest bail of the suspect in September 2016 only to be granted a post-arrest bailby the session’s court after two months. The suspect roams freely while Khadija lives under traumatic fear.
In a recent interview with Times of Turkey, Khadija spoke about the brutal event and her struggle to gather herself together and fight for justice.
Khadija started by describing the events of the day.
“3 May 2016, was a typical day for me. I picked my sister Sofia from school and made her board the car. As I was about to make my way in, a ruthless creature clad in a helmet with lethal intentions pounced on me. In the blink of an eye, I was propelled into the backseat with enormous force compounded by uninterrupted gashes, not twice or thrice but 23 times.”
She added that the attacker kept stabbing until she was drenched in blood. “I lay lifeless in the middle of Daivs road being declared dead by a bevvy of men surrounding me.”
Despite the incident being widely covered in the media, no one from the government offered any support to Khadija. “In fact, I tried using various forums to get support – but all in vain.”
To make things even worse, the family of the accused started threatening her.
“The accused’s father is from the legal fraternity so they would pressurise us to withdraw from the case. And since I’m part of a patriarchal society, they also did character assassination.
In short, the whole year had been a struggle to get justice from the same fraternity to which the criminal’s family belonged. At every court hearing they would threaten us to give up the case, or as a consequence, they would drag the case for years without any fruitful results.”
Approximately ten months after the incident, Khadija found some relief when Tehmina Durranioffered support via her women’s rights charity ‘Tehmina Durrani Foundation (TDF)’ offering legal and moral support. TDF according to Khadija has helped her immensely by pursuing her case as well as ensuring security during her exams. Backed by TDF, Khadija has not only vowed to fight for justice but also inspiring young girls of Pakistan.
“She has continuously lifted my morale and treated me like her own daughter. I am determined to stand by her in making Pakistan a social welfare state,” stated Khadija.
When asked about her feelings while attending the exam under the same roof as her attacker, Khadija said: “When I got to know about this I felt as if my nation has failed me by allowing a criminal to become a lawyer. Had the opponents not been backed by the judiciary, it wouldn’t have been such a tough battle. There are flaws in our system, but they are not so extensive that despite clear evidence a criminal is allowed to roam freely while the victim can’t have peaceful night’s sleep.”
Despite the entire struggle, Khadija is still hopeful for justice.
“Had I listened to everyone around me who told me that justice is never served in Pakistan, I would’ve given up way before. I want this case to set an example that no one can escape punishment. I stand for all the female victims [and want to say] that YES WE HAVE HOPE!!”
The silver lining in the horrific case of Khadija Siddiqui has been the crucial role of the media in taking up her cause and publicising it. Without consistent media reporting and noise – this brave young woman would not have been able to share her ordeal and her resolve not to surrender her quest for justice may have faltered. The Lahore High Court and the Punjab government took notices of legal delays.
However, taking notice is not enough in a system where judicial and executive officials fail to act swiftly under the law. Needless to say, our justice system needs a total overhaul and it remains criminal that Pakistanis have to suffer at the hands of an antiquated, essentially colonial legal system in the 21st century. Our elected governments need to be reminded time and again to deliver on this front. In fact, what Pakistan needs is a broad-based social movement for reform of institutions of justice not populist shenanigans and opportunistic politics in the name of Insaf and fighting corruption.
