Shelter for victims of persecution
The CLAAS Rehabilitation Centre, ‘Apna Ghar’, for women and children:
Sadly, violence against women remains prevalent in Pakistani society. The second class status of women means that rapes and abuse go unreported and society turns a largely blind eye. As a result, many victims not only suffer physically, but are also left traumatised and with feelings of hopelessness, isolation and humiliation.
CLAAS continues to help victims by helping them to report their abuse to the relevant authorities. We also provide women victims of abuse with basic items to meet their practical needs, and run counselling workshops to help them move beyond their traumatic experiences. The workshops include legal advice on making a case against the perpetrator and how to cope with the physical impact of the abuse.
Many abused women and girls find themselves without a roof over the head, whilst women and children accused of blasphemy are at high risk of being killed. In light of this pressing need, CLAAS initially opened one of its offices to accommodate abuse victims but when requests for shelter swelled, it started to look at the construction of rehabilitation centre Apna Ghar.
Our shelter home in Lahore houses 120 young women who have escaped from forced marriages and endured horrible abuse. In this place, these girls have opportunities to go back to school, learn useful life skills and live normal lives as part of a loving Christian community. CLAAS’ legal team is working hard to provide free legal support and protection wherever possible to victims of oppression and religious persecution. CLAAS notes with particular alarm the increase in violence against religious minorities. In the last 50 years, the legal status of both women and religious minorities has diminished significantly and the number of cases discriminating against religious minorities continues to rise. Such cases are undergirded by Islamic teaching and the Pakistani Constitution, which is often exploited to discriminate against religious minorities instead of protecting them.
CLAAS’ legal team works with victims of religious intolerance, rape and sexual abuse, trafficking, illegal detention, torture, domestic violence and other forms of oppression, as well as people facing charges of blasphemy under Pakistan’s notorious Blasphemy Law.
We have also worked on cases involving the Hudood Ordinance, a law brought into existence under former military ruler Zia-ul-Haq that has led to hundreds of women victims of rape being accused of Zina (extramarital sex) and consequently imprisoned. The perpetrators, meanwhile, often go unpunished.
Sadly, destitute women and children account for a high proportion of victims of oppression. Poor people in Pakistan generally have little or no awareness of their basic legal and human rights.
The centre provides the women and children with accommodation, food, clothes, recreational facilities, medical assistance, education and counselling sessions.
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