Students are injured in clashes with Pakistani police over reports of a rape on campus

LAHORE, Pakistan – More than two dozen students were injured in clashes with Pakistani police over reports of a rape of a young woman on campus, officials said Wednesday.

The students were injured in violence in the eastern city of Lahore in Punjab province on Monday and Tuesday after reports of the alleged rape spread on social media.

Students initially protested on the private college’s campus, but later gathered outside the provincial assembly, where they clashed with police.

The university administration denied that it was an attack, as did the teenager’s parents.

Sexual violence against women is widespread in Pakistan, but is rarely reported due to the stigma associated with it in the conservative country. Protests over sexual violence against women are rare.

A special committee set up by the provincial government said the alleged victim slipped in her home on October 2 and was taken to a hospital where she was treated until October 11. The student was not at the college from October 3rd until October 15th, it was said.

The Federal Investigation Agency said it was investigating the case, including identifying the people who spread the reports on social media.

The Organization for Sustainable Social Development said last month that 7,010 rape cases were reported in Pakistan in 2023, nearly 95% of them in Punjab province.

“However, due to the social stigma in Pakistan that discourages women from seeking help, there is a high possibility that the actual number of cases is even higher due to under-reporting,” it said.

This week’s protests came less than a month after a woman said she was raped multiple times while on duty during a polio vaccination drive in the southern province of Sindh.

The police arrested three men. Her husband kicked her out of the house after the reported assault, saying she had tarnished the family name.