Update: In response to the June 6, 2011 public shaming of a woman in Haipur, who was forcibly paraded naked in front of her entire village, Pakistani civil society organizations and NGOs formed a broad coalition to push authorities, including the chief minister, the high court and the police department, to take appropriate action. With public support, media coverage and strong rights-based advocacy, law enforcement agencies have extended their suppor to the victims and their families. Support work is ongoing.

ISLAMABAD: A woman was forcibly paraded naked through a village after her sons were accused of sleeping with a married neighbour who became pregnant, police said Tuesday.

The incident happened after neighbour Mohammad Salman grew suspicious that the woman’s sons slept with his wife in Neelor Bala village, 100 kilometres north of Islamabad, said police official Akhtar Nawaz.

Enraged Salman and his brothers went to confront the suspects, who were identified only as Rashid and Kazim, but they had fled, leaving behind their mother, Nawaz said.

“They dragged her out, tore up her clothes and forced her to walk naked on the street,” the police official said.

“No one has come to lodge a formal complaint. Police registered a case themselves after receiving reports from local residents,” he told AFP.

An investigation is underway and two people have been taken into custody for questioning, he said.

Police investigation officer Shabbir Hussain Shah said the statement of the woman, who is aged about 50, had been recorded.

Salman, who works in Lahore, believed that one of the brothers had got his wife pregnant while he was away from home, Shah said.

Rights for women in Pakistan are bleak. The nation still remains without a domestic violence law, pending objections from a hardline religious party.

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