Lahore:
For a woman confronted at home with a limited education and no professional experience, the sudden opportunity to earn money and support her household in difficulty resembles a radius of miraculous hope. In a perverse society, however, this hope is used as bait by predators to trap naive women and provide their vacant posts for the victims.
This was the story of Muqaddas Rahim *, a 35 -year -old single mother from Baghbanpura, Lahore.
After her divorce, she returned to her parents with her three -year -old son and had an urgent need for financial independence.
“In February of last year, I received a call on WhatsApp from a man who offered me a job. Due to my difficult financial situation, I accepted the offer and I was invited to an interview in an IQBAL city’s place. Once I reached the place, I was raped by three men. Although the accused were arrested and condemned, I was not able to recover trauma.”
Unfortunately, however, the case of Muqaddas is not an isolated incident of fraudulent job offers used as a tool for sexual violence. In August 2021, a woman looking for a job in Lahore was offered a job by two men. When she reached the place, the accused gang raped her and threatened to disclose her video if she reported it. In September 2021, a mother of two went to her workplace in Rawalpindi where she would have been raped by the man who had offered her the post.
In November 2023, an orphan girl was the victim of gangs by drunk suspects under the guise of a job offer in the Raiwind region, and was then sung by the accused, who filmed him during the crime. In May 2024, a woman from Jhang was invited to Lahore for a job interview and was taken to an apartment, where five suspects would have the victim of a gang. Similarly, in July 2024, a girl was raped within the limits of the racing police station area under the pretext of a job offer. In March this year, a woman from Faisalabad was taken to an unknown location for a job interview and was then raped.
According to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), a total of 965 incidents of sexual assault against women on the pretext of a job offer have been reported in the past two years. While 233 cases were reported in 2023 and 569 cases were reported in 2024, 167 incidents have already taken place in the first two months of this year.
Despite a 330% increase in the incidence of these cases in the past three years, the conviction rate for the accused remains as low as five percent since the majority is released due to insufficient evidence, non-compliance by the applicant, reconciliation or simply a poor investigation.
According to Maryam Gandapur, activist and human rights lawyer at the High Court of Lahore, these figures do not have a precise image of the seriousness of the problem, because the majority of victims of sexual violence in employment scams remain silent for fear of stigmatization. “Even if a victim said to his family, that will not only bring him a shame, but will also prevent him from working elsewhere,” said Gandapur.
“After such incidents, victims develop a multitude of psychological problems.
First of all, they are afraid to disclose this to their families because they fear that it is tarnishing their reputation, and they do not obtain marriage proposals.
Second, it is unlikely that the victims will take paid employment in the future and even when they do it, they are constantly afraid.
Finally, the victims suffer from mental agony for years and can no longer trust men, “said Fatima Tahir, clinical psychologist.
Expressing his concern about the increase in the incidence of rape through employment fraud, ASP Lahore Syeda Sheherbano Naqvi urged women to adopt vigilance and to make history checks before accepting job offers made via WhatsApp or telephone calls.
“The delinquents will generally invite the victims to a hotel, a residence or a guest house for an interview, women should therefore be alert. In case a woman is stuck in a dangerous situation, she should immediately contact the police,” said Naqvi.
