“Even though I came from a middle-class background, over a third of my friends had gone through traumatic abuse, but they never talked about it because they were ashamed,” says Ahmed.

Her support groups with abuse victims began with her providing advice, guidance, and consolation to friends of hers who had been abused. Word spread about her service and, since 2007, she has been working with victims from across Islamabad over email.

Because these victims may get in trouble if their families find out that they are asking for help, Ahmed’s website encourages victims to create an alternate email address to minimize the chances of getting caught. It also encourages the victims to remain anonymous for the duration of their communication with members of the website.

Although sexual abuse is not uncommon in Pakistan, cases of assault are often covered up and the victim is often blamed, says Ahmed.

In situations where married women are sexually abused and choose to reveal their experience to their spouses, divorce often ensues rather than support, she says.

In extreme cases, Ahmed says, suicide can result from the victimization and psychological harm that befalls the victims, who is often left to deal with their trauma alone.

Ahmed says that even in the existing women shelters, there is little psychological support—one psychologist is often assigned to hundreds of victims in the shelters.

The shelters leave a cradle outside for women to leave unwanted newborns, says Ahmed.

Ahmed says that in Pakistan, where corruption charges surround the Justice Department and topics of sexual abuse are taboo, “one cannot give the victims false hope of justice.”

“For me the goal is to find a way to let their voice to be heard and to help them survive and heal,” she says.

Until recently, the rape laws in Pakistan required multiple witnesses for conviction, leaving many offenders unpunished.

Ahmed also says that there is a misconception that the lack of reporting of sexual abuse in Pakistan is related to religion.

“The shame associated with the abuse is more of a social and cultural issue that is widespread throughout Southeast Asia and is not limited to countries where the majority holds a specific religious belief,” she says.

TAKING THE INITIATIVE

Ahmed was first exposed to the subject when she was 14 and was selected to speak about sexual abuse with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at a conference.