The brave 25-year-old had used a knife to defend herself from the assault of a man who stormed her house in the central province of Punjab, according to police officer Mohamed Ilyas.
Hundreds of women are raped in Pakistan each year, but those who commit the assaults are rarely punished due to weak laws and complicated procedures for prosecution, according to Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
Rape victims are often blamed for their assaults, accused of socialising with men – something frowned upon in conservative Muslim societies – or of bringing the attack on themselves.
Many women remain silent and decline to file a police report to avoid being named and shamed by Pakistan’s conservative society, advocacy group Aurat Foundation said.
“It is a painful situation. Often victims are blamed both by the legal system and the society,” women’s rights activist Farzana Bari said.
