In 2021 alone, there were 5200 rape cases in Pakistan – reported, majority are not reported especially in a place like Pakistan, where the victims would be forced to marry the perpetrator in some cases, or a monetary settlement received by the father. There is cultural issue in Pakistan with attitudes towards women. My family is from Pakistan and I have lived there for 10 years – so I am not just saying it to be controversial – I am saying that there is an issue and that issue is exported out of the country.

It almost doesn’t matter the ethnicities of other perpetrators of sexual offences in this context. The facts there is a significant number of men from Pakistani descent doing it, should in itself raise the question why, and how can it be removed from communities. It is in the best interest of British Muslim communities from Pakistani heritage, to try to root it out from amongst themselves – and that won’t happen unless there is some form of acceptance of this issue. Hiding the issue behind race cards won’t help anyone.

When analysing Pakistani culture, most people conflate it as a singular culture, which it isn’t. There are many different groups of people, with different languages, traditions and customs that form Pakistan. They are not all complicit in such acts just by association. That distinction is important to further understand where exactly we are importing this sexual exploitation culture from and how best to combat it in Britain. It’s important because we need to fix this problem. Not just by capturing the culprits but by preventing future ones. Not all Pakistani men or those of Pakistani heritage but not born there are of this nature, especially extremely rare in the educated class both within and outside of the country. That is another clear distinction that needs to be made when looking at the cultural variations. Most times what happens is we take views from people of Pakistani heritage, who are highly educated or are from well off families – most of whom have not come across such a problem in their circles – and we use that to negate the narrative. That is a fallacy in itself.

Also majorly, we ignore the views of the women as well from such communities. The women in Pakistan are continually harassed in the streets, they dare not go without some male presence. This was a daily occurrence I saw and was disgusted by. And it wasn’t just lad behaviour. I find it laughable that anyone who has lived in Pakistan, or is from there, can say with a straight face that Pakistan is an extremely safe place for women, especially self-aware Pakistani men – we know the score, we have witnessed it on a daily basis. Ya, maybe if they are either covered up, married, unfortunately not that good looking, or well connected.

Women in Pakistan constantly face a psychological battle when it comes to public, peer and family perceptions. A lot of times they are forced to marry someone they might not like because of fear, perception, family pressure, coercion and so on. I say that, to tell you that women aren’t totally free in that culture. And please don’t use some well-off well-connected outliers like the late female PM to disprove a reality for majority. And so this is another mistake we make when trying to analyse that country.

So, basically, there are many nuances to that culture and country – it is a young country and it needs time to evolve – but unfortunately massive political corruption keeps holding it back. That is not our problem to solve. Our problem to solve is what is being imported from that country, and that is sexual deviancy from a certain demographic of that country. So let’s tackle that, without hiding behind isms and phobias. Facts are facts. There’s also no need for whatabouttery – as I said before, it doesn’t matter the racial or cultural background of other preparators – there is a significant number of this subgroup to deal with on its own. For the better of that subcommunity in Britain & nation as a whole.

This issue can be helped by strong initiatives and policies set by the government, but it will ultimately be resolved by the British Pakistani community itself within Britain. And that won’t happen if we keep on making excuses on their behalf and not let the saner, decent voices from that or affiliated communities to try fix this issue from within. Let them preserve the good cultural elements & weed out the bad. I hope you understand the message.