This Emmy-winning 2013 documentary traced the story of a teenage girl who risked her life by daring to allege rape in Pakistan, and also chronicled her alleged rapists’ quest to clear their names.
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When 13-year-old Kainat Soomro accused four men of gang rape, she risked everything: her reputation, her education and even her life. That’s because, in Pakistan, women and girls who allege rape have often been more strongly condemned than their alleged rapists. Deemed impure and shameful, some have even been killed by their own families.
“Outlawed in Pakistan” shone a spotlight on the realities of Pakistan’s justice system and found that those rare rape cases that did make it to court were often fraught with complications, from police non-cooperation to a systemic lack of forensic evidence.
Through the lens of the protracted legal battle between Kainat and her alleged rapists, with whom a judge sided in court, the documentary explored the stigma around alleging rape in Pakistan, the continued influence of the country’s tribal justice system and the troubling procedural flaws in the nation’s formal court system. According to Kainat Soomro’s lawyer, Faisal Siddiqui, as of 2025, after more than a decade of legal proceedings, Kainat has decided to stop pursuing the case.
The documentary was honored with both a 2013 Emmy Award and a 2013 Overseas Press Club Award.
“Outlawed in Pakistan” is an H2H Films production for WGBH/FRONTLINE and the Independent Television Service (ITVS). The producers and writers are Habiba Nosheen and Hilke Schellmann. It is a co-presentation with the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM).
Explore additional reporting on “Outlawed in Pakistan” on our website:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/outlawed-in-pakistan/
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Prologue
01:13 – A Teen Girl’s Allegations Against Four Men in Pakistan
08:53 – Pakistan’s Tribal Justice System
19:11 – A Trial in Pakistan
35:21 – After Three Years, a Verdict
40:59 – After the Verdict, Threats and an Attack Against the Teen Girl’s Family
53:02 – Credits
