The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has strongly condemned the brutal attack on Sobia Batool Shah, who was assaulted by her father and uncles in Nausharoferoz district, Sindh. The assault occurred on Friday after Sobia filed for divorce from her abusive husband. The attackers used axes in the name of patriarchal “honour,” leaving Sobia with severe injuries and potentially permanent disabilities.
HRCP expressed grave concern over the incident, highlighting that it underscores the normalization of gender-based violence in patriarchal societies like Pakistan’s. They have called on the Sindh government to ensure Sobia receives the best possible medical care and demanded that the perpetrators be held accountable.
The assault inflicted significant physical and mental trauma on Sobia, with the possibility that she may never regain full mobility. The attackers—Sobia’s father Syed Mustafa Shah and her uncles Syed Qurban Shah, Ehsan Shah, Shah Nawaz, and Mushtaq Shah—left her severely injured and fleeing the scene, leaving her in a pool of blood.
Sobia had previously reported her husband’s abusive behavior and his failure to support her and their two children to the police, but her family’s dismissal of her concerns exacerbated her suffering. Police have arrested one suspect, Mushtaq Shah, and are continuing their search for the other assailants.
