Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Pakistan Prime minister Imran Khan again blamed a rise in the cases of sexual violence on how women dress in the country. In an interview, he stated that if a woman is wearing very few clothes, it will have an impact on the men, unless they are robots.
PM Imran Khan further said that this is cultural imperialism. Whatever is acceptable in our culture, must be accepted everywhere else. After his interview, there was a massive outrage on social media with opposition leaders and journalists expressing anger and disgust against the misogynistic ideology.
Reema Omer, a legal advisor with the International Commission of Jurists, expressed disappointment after Khan reiterated his stance on victim-blaming in cases of sexual violence. Omer stated that the interview was disappointing and sickening. “Disappointing and frankly sickening to see PM Imran Khan repeat his victim-blaming regarding reasons for sexual violence in Pakistan Men are not “robots”. If they see women in skimpy clothes, they will get “tempted” and some will resort to rape,” Omer said.
In April, Khan blamed “obscenity” for the rise in sexual violence cases in Pakistan during a live television interview and advised women to cover up to prevent temptation. “This entire concept of purdah is to avoid temptation. Not everyone has the willpower to avoid it,” he said.
Hundreds of people mobilised demanding an apology from him for his views and held a protest in Islamabad. The protestors criticised Khan for what they called “victim-blaming” and demanded an apology for the comment.
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