Cyber Crime Against Women in Pakistan     

Ever since there has been a rise in technology, massive improvements have been seen in people's life styles. Naturally, every facility has it pros and cons as well. Many people have taken advantage from the rise in technology. In order for a change to be successful, some rules and regulations need to be made. Ever since the introduction of the internet, people's lives have been transformed. Along with the benefits of cyber technology, there has been an alarming rise in cybercrimes as well.   

There are many forms of cyber crimes which people have committed. Throughout the world, cyber crime is considered a serious offence. The most common form of cyber crimes is fake identities on social media. This form of cyber crime may not seem that serious but has affected the lives of many people who have been affected by this. In February 2015 Kevin Bollaert of San Diego was found guilty of online blackmailing, identity theft, and extortion. He was sentenced to 18 years in state prison.    

According to article 17 of the international covenant on civil and political rights, 1966, " No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honor and reputation". Another point of the article states that "everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks."

However, Pakistan is among the nations where there is rarely any implementation of the Cyber Crimes law. Pakistan's Constitution promises citizen's right to freedom of expression under article 19A. In 2015 the national assembly's standing committee on information technology and telecommunication approved the prevention of electronic crimes bill 2015 aim to tighten its hand on the Cyber Crime and to protect online terrorism. But the penalties and crimes in this bill have been poorly drafted. Owing to the intense pressure from the IT Industries, Media, Internet Service Providers, NGOs and members of civil society the bill has been sent back to the assembly for amendments. Section 17 to 26 of this proposed bill term Political criticism, immoral messages on Facebook and Twitter as offences. 

The Federal Investigation agency's Cyber Crime cell was receiving 10 to 12 complaints daily in Karachi regarding abuse in Social Media sites and internet frauds back in 2012. Senior officials, who want to remain anonymous said that most of the complaints were about fake Facebook profiles, but the FIA's Cyber Crime Circles could not do much in the absence of regulatory laws . They said most that most complaints were made on behalf of women who ended up being abused on social media sites. The officials said the complaint of fake facebook profiles was the most rampant complaint where people created a fake profile of any person, in most cases of girls but men were no exception to this crime. 

"In order to block a fake facebook account, we have created our own system, but it's not effective in all cases," said an official  

"In the Past we have sent several request to headquarters in the U.S to block the fake profiles, but they didn’t entertain our request on the grounds that their website was being governed by the U.S laws"

"However, lately they have started to cooperate to some extent only when we get Court orders on their prescribed pattern and a request is forwarded to them. They take 3 to 4 months in providing details of a fake account to us. It is a time consuming process".   

The officials said that a number of complaints had been reported to the cyber crime cell where men made a fake profile those girls whose families had rejected their matrimonial proposals. Other cases included scenarios where men started to blackmail their girlfriends by making their fake profiles on facebook and uploading their photographs on social media.  

" Often people approach the police regarding their complaints about a cyber crime, but we refer them to the FIA cyber crime cell as at present, there are regulatory laws under which their complaints could be registered," said Clifton SP Dr Farrukh Ali.   

Women have specifically been the target of cyber criminals. There was a time back in 2015 where people operated multiple pages on facebook which included inappropriate photographs of young school going girls. The culprits who were running these pages were so particular about their content, that they used to upload some pictures and videos only for a span of 5 minutes, and millions of people would download and view their content. This had a severe impact on the lives of those girls and their families. 

On 17th August 2015, two students, Muhammad Ali and Suhail, were arrested by the FIA(Federal Investigation Agency) for blackmailing girls online. The students ran a facebook page called Edwardian Girls using a pseudonym called Gandageer Khan. This group posted personal information, photographs and contact numbers of girls without their consent. The students running this page demanded money in return for removing the information.  These students were active in this act since 2011 for four years until they were finally caught. In a discussion with three female victims of Gandageer Khan's criminal act, the girls said that the blackmail had a terrible psychological effect on them and their families.   

In Islamabad, a woman's life had been shattered after learning that her ex fiancé had maliciously created a fake facebook profile of her. The man uploaded her phone number along with inappropriate photographs. She explained how she started receiving random phone calls from "strange men" and how horrifying it was for her. Dr Fauzia Saeed of AASHA, an NGO working against harassment, recounts that a woman from Dadu attempted suicide when a tampered picture of her went viral on the internet.    

Cyber crimes against women may seem very normal to the culprits who are behind the screen, or they might just be sources for killing time, but it is a very serious issue since it affects the lives of the women involved in it to a great extent. People may not treat them with respect, and the women might not be able to face the outside world. There have been unreported cases when young girls have committed suicide due to the cyber crimes committed against them.

References:
Cyber crimes against Pakistani women- a must read article. (2016).Pakistaniscandals.com. Retrieved 19 October 2016, from http://www.pakistaniscandals.com/post/1184/cyber-crimes-against-pakistani-women-a-must-read-.html

Hassan, S. "Alarming Rise In Cyber Crimes". Dawn.com. N. p., 2012. Web. 19 Oct. 2016.   

Khan, Kamran. "Cyber-Blackmail: A Challenge For Pakistan". Voice of Journalists. N. p., 2015. Web. 19 Oct. 2016.

Sultan, Mirza. "Cyber Crime In Pakistan: Serious Threat But No Laws!". Pakistan Defence. N. p., 2016. Web. 19 Oct. 2016.

Cyber Crime bill Pakistan 2016 – A Relief for Girls | Women Empowerment Pakistan |Pakistani Women News & Opinions   

"Dailytimes | Cyber Crime Against Women   ". Dailytimes.com.pk. N. p., 2016. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.  

Cybercrimes Against Women - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. N. p., 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.