Abstract
In 1947 at the height of rioting in the Punjab hapless women were subjected to
various forms of gendered and sexual violence. Sikh and Hindu women in the
Rawalpindi Division also experienced multiple atrocities of which abduction was
perhaps the most ignoble. Due to their perception as symbols of honour and pride
of the “other” community which was under attack, women constituted vulnerable
targets. Thus, their abduction meant defiling the entire community. In addition to
representing the honour of the community, women were also considered to be
mere “sexual objects” to be possessed when social and cultural boundaries broke
down during the chaos. The orgy of violence against women started in March and
it became severe later in August when the Partition took place. Muslim aggressors
abducted Sikh and Hindu women shamelessly amid attacks on non-Muslims during
the turmoil that brought the virtual collapse of the state machinery. A number of
women were kidnapped after the male population had been killed or injured
during raids on villages, towns, or inadequately protected trains carrying
refugees. The non-Muslim abducted women were either relocated to another place
to avoid capture or dissuaded from returning to their family by propaganda. The
abduction and subsequent abuses caused the women physical, mental, and
psychological agony, thereby, making them the primary victims of violence.
Dr. Misbah Umar. (2022) The Orgy of 1947 Violence: Abduction of non-Muslim Women from Rawalpindi and their Plight , Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan, volume 59, issue 1.
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