Five Men Accused Of Raping, Torturing And Killing Stolen Goat

The rape and torture of a goat in Punjab, Pakistan has triggered social media trolling of the country’s president. Five men have been accused of stealing the goat to sexually abuse it leading to the animal’s death. Citizens of the country took to social media to criticize comments previously made by president Imran Khan regarding men being encouraged to rape women due to their clothing.

On Saturday, July 24 five residents of the Okara district of Punjab reportedly stole the goat that belonged to a laborer. The goat was left tied outside the man’s home as many other leave their livestock tied near their homes. The men untied the goat and led it to a secluded area.

The men gang-raped the animal and tortured it till the animal died. According to The Tribune, locals noticed the men suspiciously fleeing. Unaware of his goat’s assault, the owner Azhar Hussain found his animal missing from outside his home. The goat owner had paid Rs. 60,000 ($808) for the animal.

He started looking for his missing goat till he found its corpse in a nearby forest. He took the goat’s body to a nearby veterinary hospital. Post mortem examination proved that the animal had been sexually assaulted.

The goat owner filed a police complaint against the five accused men. Charges have been filed against them under Sections 377 and 429 of the Pakistan Panel Code. Three of the five men have been identified as Naeem, Nadeep and Rab Nawaz, the News Track reported. The accused are absconding as the police have launched a search for them.

Sexual violence against women had been rampant in the country. Statements from the country’s president defending the acts of the accused had drawn widespread criticism. On multiple occasions Khan made public statements blaming the victim for being alone or dressing inappropriately leading to the assault. He had stated that men are not robots that they will not react when a woman is dressed inappropriately.

Netizens questioned whether the leader thought the goat’s attire enticed the men to sexually abuse it. Spinning Khan’s comments around, people pointed that the men who were not robots must have been incited by the goat standing alone without proper clothing.

People pointed out that patriarchy was the problem, not the victim’s actions.

According to the World Economic Forum, Pakistan is ranked at 153 out of 156 countries for gender parity in the Global Gender Gap.