Prime Minister Imran Khan once again talks about rising cases of sexual violence

Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan once again commented on the rising number of sexual violence cases in Pakistan, saying that if women wear less clothes, it will have an impact on men.

In an interview released on Monday, the prime minister addressed a range of issues, including military bases; the peace process in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the first talk about seduction and women’s clothing went viral on social media.

Turning to the prime minister’s earlier vulgar remarks about sparking backlash on social media, Swan asked:

“Regarding getting vulgar, you said it will have consequences. You are accused of raping the victim. How do you respond?”

In response, the prime minister defended his criticism, saying “this is nonsense.”

“I never talked about the veil—it never talked about it. I said the concept of pardah is [to] Avoid social temptations. We don’t have a disco, nor a nightclub,” he said.

“So this is a completely different society, the way of life here. So, if you raise the temptation in society to this level, all these young people have nowhere to go, it will have an impact on society,” he added.

“What do you think women wear—then, is that part of the temptation?” Swan asked.

“If a woman wears very few clothes, it will have an impact on men,” Prime Minister Imran Khan responded. “Unless they are robots. I mean, it’s common sense.”

“Yes, but does it really trigger sexual violence?” Swan asked.

“It depends on which society you live in,” Prime Minister Imran Khan replied. He added: “If people have not seen that kind of thing in a society, it will have an impact on them.”