Pakistani PM Imran Khan blames women for sexual violence

News Desk: It was the second time in two months that Khan sparked outrage after suggesting that women’s attire plays a role in provoking sexual violence against them.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is facing growing criticism at home after seemingly blaming a rise in sexual violence in Pakistan on women wearing “very few clothes.”

His comments drew nationwide condemnation from human rights activists and the country’s opposition, which sought an apology. The controversial statements aired over the weekend came in an interview on Axios, a documentary news series on HBO.

“If a woman is wearing very few clothes it will have an impact, it will have an impact on the men, unless they’re robots,” the prime minister said. “I mean it’s common sense.”

Asked directly by interviewer Jonathan Swan whether the way that women dress could provoke acts of sexual violence, Khan said: “It depends on which society you live in. If in a society where people haven’t seen that sort of thing, it will have an impact on them.”

It was the second time in two months that Khan sparked outrage after suggesting that women’s attire plays a role in provoking sexual violence against them.

In April, in an online show on state-run Pakistan Television, Khan claimed that wearing a veil — the traditional head covering worn by conservative Muslim women — would protect women from sexual assault.

Khan’s government has faced criticism over its failure to curb sexual attacks on women since he came into power by winning a simple majority in parliamentary elections in 2018.