Mick Hartley

Kunwar Khuldune Shahid, a Pakistan-based correspondent for The Diplomat, writes in the Spectator on how Pakistan’s rape culture led to the UK grooming gangs:

Certain attitudes dominate Pakistan. There is a gory mix in the country of Islamic supremacism, primitive tribalism and violent misogyny, which encourages some men to prey on girls. That many of these girls are underage has little sway on these men, since both their religious beliefs and customs see all females who have reached puberty as being fully grown women. This translates into a rape culture that in recent decades has seen young British girls being mercilessly violated. Sexual harassment by Pakistani men has been reported elsewhere as well, including in Turkey.

Pakistan’s sexist culture in built on skewed notions of ‘honour’ and ‘morality’, with women deemed property of men, and required to be under male supervision or custodianship.

Traditionally, ‘honourable’ women keep themselves segregated and limit their visibility in public. Any transgressions by women are considered immoral, and often result in violence. Islamic modesty codes which ask women to cover up so they are not harassed further fuels the idea that female ‘honour’ is linked to the lack of a woman’s visibility. Islamic traditions establishing sexual slavery also encourages the ‘loverboy’ abuse strategy.

In many cases, the Pakistani grooming gangs in the UK targeted Caucasian non-Muslim girls because they are lower in the ‘honour’ scale. This is exacerbated by the ‘white woman fantasy’ prevalent across Pakistan. European women are often fetishised in the pop culture of Pakistan, and often depicted as lusting after desi men. Many Pakistani novels, films and TV shows feature western and westernised women being ‘loose’. Similarly, Pakistani grooming gangs have deemed British girls ‘easy meat’ or ‘fair game’.

In this culture it's the women who are responsible for rape, not the men. The men can't be blamed for following their "natural" inclinations. If young women go out on their own, without a guardian, unveiled, then they're asking for it.

In Pakistan, rape culture and the belittling of sexual abuse isn’t just a feature of rural or tribal areas. Former military dictator Pervez Musharraf accused women of ‘using rape for moneymaking’, while Imran Khan, as prime minister, blamed the way women dress and their lifestyle choices for the rise in rape cases across the country. Khan continues to enjoy massive popularity among overseas Pakistanis, including in the UK. His playboy lifestyle during his cricket days – and later political career as a born-again Muslim – is often considered by young Pakistani men as the ideal life template….

While the failure of the British authorities to protect young girls from grooming gangs is lamentable, there is something currently missing to stop these crimes happening in the future. There needs to be a much greater backlash to these crimes within the Pakistani community. While many progressive and liberal Pakistanis condemn sexist violence at home, when these crimes take place in Britain, they join their predominantly conservative fellow community members in a conspiracy of silence. Ostensibly this is because they are afraid of racism and ‘Islamophobia’. For many of these progressives in Pakistan, upholding the myth of cultural equivalence is more important than providing justice to the victims and prevention of these monstrous acts. It would be far better to speak up against these crimes, instead of looking to pin the blame elsewhere.

Indeed. Where are these condemnations from within the Pakistani community?