“And this is why we speak about our survival stories."
Ayesha Omar shed light on domestic violence being labelled a “silent pandemic” in Pakistan.
She shared an Instagram Story of a report that addressed the rise of domestic abuse in the country.
It stated: “Domestic violence is emerging as a silent pandemic in Pakistan, posing a serious challenge to society and the state, points out a study report published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
“The report, Gendered Impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Central and West Asia, quoted a recent survey carried out in Punjab and Sindh which reported an increase in incidence of threats of physical violence (40 per cent) and physical assault from spouses (46%).
“Moreover, 14% of surveyed women knew someone in their community who was threatened with physical harm by their husband
“19% knew someone who was physically assaulted by her husband, and 27% knew cases where children were beaten by their parents.”
After sharing the post on her page, Ayesha wrote:
“And this is why we speak about our survival stories. To give strength and courage to other women to walk away or seek help.”
In a previous interview, Ayesha Omar admitted that she was the victim of an abusive relationship which lasted a total of eight years, almost ending in marriage.
Speaking vaguely about the difficulties she faced, Ayesha stated:
“I don’t want to talk about the relationship in detail because it took me so long to leave the person, as I always thought he would eventually change and become better, or that I could fix him.
“Even after eight years of going back and forth, the relationship was full of physical and verbal abuse, so I left.
“He was so fond of swearing and even told me he cursed at me to show me affection.
“I mean, I use profanity too while sitting amongst friends, but not for publicly demeaning someone.”
Ayesha went on to say that she still spoke to her ex-partner but did not name him.
She added: “I have a cordial relationship with him and consider him family as well.
“I hope he has resolved his issues, as I understand that every supposedly ‘crazy’ behaviour has mental and childhood trauma behind it.
“Unfortunately, some people just release that trauma in an abusive or physical manner rather than dealing with it.”
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