'Never would I say such stupid thing': Pak PM says he never blamed rape victims - Hindustan Times

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In an interview with PBS NewsHour on Wednesday, Imran Khan said he was talking about Pakistani society and sex crimes, which are not limited to women.(REUTERS)

'Never would I say such stupid thing': Pak PM says he never blamed rape victims

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said he would never make a stupid comment like this that women are to be blamed for rape.

By hindustantimes.com | Written by Poulomi Ghosh

PUBLISHED ON JUL 28, 2021 04:22 PM IST

In an interview with Axios' Johnathan Swan, Pakistan Premier Imran Khan apparently said if you raise temptation in the society to the point, and all these young guys have nowhere to go, it has consequences on the society. He was commenting on rape and his comment which he now has denied drew flak.

In an interview with PBS NewsHour on Wednesday, Imran Khan said he was talking about Pakistani society and sex crimes, which are not limited to women. Asserting that he knows all his interviews and all that he says, Khan on Wednesday said that he would never say such a "stupid thing" that a person who is raped is somehow responsible. "Anyone who commits rape, solely and solely that person is responsible. So let’s be clear about that. No matter how provocative the woman is or whatever she wears, the person who commits rape is fully responsible. Never is the victim responsible," he said.

He also said the compared to the Western countries, rape cases in Pakistan form a minuscule. "As far as a woman’s dignity and respect goes, I can say after going all over the world, this society gives more respect and dignity to women," Khan said.

This was not the first time that Imran Khan was castigated as a "rape apologist" by international media. In April this year, in a state-run channel, he purportedly claimed that wearing a veil would protect women from sexual assault.

Explaining his veil remark, he told Jonathan, "I said the concept of 'pardah' is to avoid temptation in society. We don't have discos here, we don't have nightclubs... So this is a completely different society, a way of life here...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. I mean it’s common sense."

This explanation led to the outrage which, he said in the latest interview, was taken out of context deliberately.

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