Sir: In the UK, which we emulate for its democratic order, any husband who abuses his wife, mentally or physically, will be booked for the offence of domestic violence. In Pakistan, subjecting a woman, especially a wife, to barbaric treatment is considered the husband’s matrimonial right. Out of the hundreds of cases of honour and dowry killings, only a few surface when reported by the press. Just the other day, when a woman in Sukkur shook hands with her uncle who had come to her house to greet her on Eid day, her husband accused her of committing a suspicious act. The husband was fully supported by the village elders who decided that the woman should be punished and ordered her husband to unleash the hounds on her. In full view of the villagers, ferocious dogs tore at her flesh but the woman managed to run away to her parent’s home. To add insult to injury, the local police refused to lodge a case against this inhumane crime. There is no dearth of laws in Pakistan to guard the safety of women and there are also countless human rights NGOs receiving fabulous sums of money from foreign countries but incidents of the kind I have mentioned do not attract their attention. There is definitely a need to change the mindset of the people, especially those belonging to rural society. SAYED G B SHAH Peshawar