As many as 4,624 cases of abuse against women were reported from January to August 2007 across the country. This was revealed by Madadgar Helpline for children and women suffering from violence and abuse in a press release issued on the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to be observed on Sunday (tomorrow).

Out of total 4,624 cases, 935 women were killed, 104 murdered after committing rape, 416 were raped and 160 became victim of gang rape while 809 were tortured physically, 485 became victim to Karo-Kari, 166 burnt alive, 642 kidnapped. The report claimed that 129 women were reported as victim of police torture, while 576 had committed suicide, and 127 women became victims to trafficking and 75 were arrested under Hudood cases.

The eight years statistics (since January 2000 to August 2007) showed the number of reported cases of violence against women stood at 55,051 in the country. The categorical breakdown of total figure showed that 10,812 women were murdered, 287 killed after rape, 5,381 subjected to sexual abuses, 11,414 subjected to physical torture, 5,433 fell prey to Karo-Kari, 1,779 burnt alive and 9,689 were kidnapped.

At least 1,010 women were subjected to torture by police, 8,192 committed suicide, 533 fell victim to trafficking and 521 were arrested under the Hudood cases. In the last seven years, out of 55,051 cases 12,124 were reported in Sindh, 34,981 in Punjab, 5,897 in NWFP and 2,049 in Balochistan.

Advocate Zia Ahmed Awan, President Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid (LHRLA) said the increasing number of cases relating to human rights violations had proved to be burdensome for organizations, which were working in this field. He said women could never be protected without creating awareness among the police, the judiciary and society about their rights.