����ֱ��

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan told the United Nations on Tuesday sexual violence was employed as a “weapon of war” under foreign occupations, highlighting the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Indian-administered Kashmir, and calling for accountability for the perpetrators.

Speaking at the UN Security Council’s annual open debate on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, Pakistan’s Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said the international community must act decisively against such abuses.

The ambassador noted this year marks the 25th anniversary of Resolution 1325, which recognizes the impact of armed conflict on women and the importance of their participation in peace processes.

He added that recent UN reports paint a grim picture of rising militarization, displacement and widespread sexual violence against civilians.

“Sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war, torture, terrorism, political repression and as a tool to consolidate illegal occupation of territories, as well as exploitation of natural resources,” Ahmad said in his statement. “The perpetrators must face justice, because impunity only emboldens abuse.”

Focusing on Palestine, he said thousands are facing violence, forced displacement and starvation at the hands of the occupying power.

“Despite the limited access granted to UN monitors, the SG’s [Secretary General’s] report has documented incidents of rape, sexual violence, prolonged forced nudity and repeated strip searches inflicted in degrading ways,” he continued. “This Council cannot turn away from such systematic abuse. Accountability is imperative.”

Ahmad also drew parallels with Indian-administered Kashmir, where he said sexual violence has been systematically used by security forces to punish and intimidate those demanding self-determination.

He urged the UN to take a comprehensive approach to addressing conflict-related sexual violence, especially in contexts of foreign occupation, where abuse is harder to monitor or report.

He called for greater participation of women in peacebuilding, the adoption of a survivor-centered approach, prioritization of situations of occupation, accountability for perpetrators and action to address the root causes of unresolved conflicts.

The Pakistani diplomat also highlighted his country’s contributions to UN peacekeeping, including its women peacekeepers, who serve in some of the world’s most dangerous conflict zones.

“Sexual violence is among the gravest crimes against human dignity,” he said. “We must take urgent and resolute action to put an end to these abhorrent practices and the impunity that sustains them.”

UMERKOT, Pakistan: Grinding charcoal with a few drops of goat’s milk, 60-year-old Basran Jogi peers at the faces of two small Pakistani sisters preparing for their first tattoos.

The practice of elder women needling delicate shapes onto the faces, hands, and arms of younger generations stretches back centuries in the Hindu villages that dot the southern border with India.

“First draw two straight lines between the eyebrows,” Jogi instructs her friend poised with a sewing needle.

“Now insert the needle along the lines — but slowly, until it bleeds.”

Six-year-old Pooja barely winces as dotted circles and triangles are tattooed onto her chin and forehead.

On the outskirts of the rural town of Umerkot in Sindh province, her seven-year-old sister Champa declares eagerly beside her that “I am ready too.”

In recent years, however, as rural Hindu communities in Muslim-majority Pakistan become more connected to nearby cities, many young women have opted out of the “old ways.”

“These signs set us apart from others,” said 20-year-old Durga Prem, a computer science student who grew up in the nearby city of Badin.

“Our generation doesn’t like them anymore. In the age of social media, young girls avoid facial tattoos because they think these marks will make them look different or unattractive.”

Her sister Mumta has also refused to accept the tattoos that mark their mother and grandmothers.

“But if we were still in the village, we might have had these marks on our faces or arms,” she reflects.

Just two percent of Pakistan’s 240 million people are Hindu, and the majority live in rural areas of southern Sindh province.

Discrimination against minorities runs deep and Hindu activist Mukesh Meghwar, a prominent voice for religious harmony, believes younger generations do not want to be instantly identified as Hindu in public.

Many Muslims believe tattoos are not permissible in Islam, and even those who have them rarely display them in public.

“We can’t force our girls to continue this practice,” Meghwar told AFP. “It’s their choice. But unfortunately, we may be the last generation to see tattoos on our women’s faces, necks, hands, and arms,” he said.

Few Hindus that AFP spoke with recalled the meaning behind the practice of tattoos or when it began, but anthropologists believe it has been part of their cultural heritage for hundreds of years.

“These symbols are part of the culture of people who trace their roots to the Indus civilization,” anthropologist Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro told AFP, referring to a Bronze Age period that pre-dates modern religion.

“These ‘marks’ were traditionally used to identify members of a community” and to “ward off evil spirits,” he adds.

Admiring the work on the grinning faces of the two little sisters, elder Jogi agreed that it was an ancestral tradition that enhanced the beauty of women.

“We don’t make them for any specific reason — it’s a practice that has continued for years. This is our passion,” she told AFP.

The marks that begin dark black quickly fade to a deep green color, but last a lifetime.

“They belong to us,” said Jamna Kolhi, who received her first tattoos as a young girl alongside Jogi.

“These were drawn by my childhood friend — she passed away a few years ago,” 40-year-old Jamna Kolhi told AFP.

“Whenever I see these tattoos, I remember her and those old days. It’s a lifelong remembrance.”