LAHORE: The latest compromise made by the
government with respect to amendments in the
Hudood laws is nothing more than a joke.
HRCP expresses its acute disappointment that the
rights of women have been dealt with in so
cavalier a fashion.
The so-called Women’s Protection Bill is a
farcical attempt at making Hudood Ordinances
palatable. In the first place, the implications
of the ordinances go far beyond discrimination
and persecution of women on the plea of morality.
For instance, the law prescribes punishments
which are inhuman and allows for evidence of male
Muslim witnesses for application of Hadd
punishments. However, women accused under Tazir
punishment of Zina (adultery) are its main
victims. There are ample examples of victims of
rape being imprisoned under accusations of zina.
The Women’s Protection Bill has addressed none of
these concerns. In addition the government has
agreed to replace Section 3 of the draft by
subjecting the interpretation of the Ordinance
according to the injunctions of Islam. Such
open-ended jurisdiction granted to an already
cowed down judiciary will result in
authentication of the most conservative form of
religious interpretation. It will also be
detrimental to the rights of non-Muslim citizens,
who may not subscribe to Islamic principles. The
addition of Section 3, could also undo the
meaningful amendment made in the law in 1996 (The
Abolition of the Punishment of whipping Act,
1996), which abolished mandatory public whippings
for the crimes of Zina and Zina-bil-jabr (rape).
HRCP has also noted that the two amendments
introduced earlier by the clerics within the
ruling party had stiffened conditions for
complaint of Qazf. By keeping hadd punishment of
zina-bil-jabr in the Ordinance, while moving the
Tazir punishment to the PPC, the authors of the
draft have created a confusion in deciding
jurisdiction of the appellate court. This will
only benefit those accused of zina-bil-jabr.
HRCP reiterates its demand that the Hudood laws
be repealed, and that the government refrains
from using the issue of women’s rights to further
its own interests, rather than making any real
effort to better the plight of the women in
country.
Asma Jahangir, Chairperson
Iqbal Haider, Secretary-General