Women's Protection Bill

Women's Protection Bill

The Women's Protection Bill which was passed by the National Assembly of Pakistan on 15 November 2006 is an attempt to amend the heavily criticized Hudood Ordinance laws which govern the punishment for rape and adultery in Pakistan.Fact|date=September 2008

Impact of the Bill

The Hudood Ordinances, enacted by military ruler Zia ul-Haq in 1979, criminalize adultery and non-marital consensual sex. They also made a rape victim liable to prosecution for adultery if she cannot produce four male witnesses to the assault.cite web | title=Strong feelings over Pakistan rape laws | work= | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6152520.stm | accessdate=Nov 18 | accessyear=2006 ] The three chief architects of the bill are reported to be former Attorney General Makhdoom Ali Khan who was responsible for it taking legal shape, Javed Ahmad Ghamidi and the Chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology Muhammad Khalid Masud.

The new Women's Protection Bill brings rape under the Pakistan Penal Code, which is based on civil law, not Sharia (Islamic law). The Bill removes the right of police to detain people suspected of having sex outside of marriage, instead requiring a formal accusation in court. Under the changes, adultery and non-marital consensual sex is still an offence but now judges would be allowed to try rape cases in criminal rather than Islamic courts. That does away with the need for the four witnesses and allows convictions to be made on the basis of forensic and circumstantial evidence.Fact|date=September 2008

The amendments change the punishment for someone convicted of having consensual sex outside marriage to imprisonment of up to five years and a fine of Rs10,000. Rape would be punishable with 10 to 25 years of imprisonment but with death or life imprisonment if committed by two or more persons together, while adultery would remain under the Hudood ordinance and is punishable with stoning to death. It is the change in the punishment for fornication and rape which is the major source of controversy. Fact|date=September 2008

The Bill also outlaws statutory rape i.e. sex with girls under the age of 16. The Islamic code bans sex with girls before puberty.Fact|date=September 2008

Controversy

Under the Hudood Ordinance, it has been claimed that women were routinely jailed for adultery on flimsy evidence, often when a former husband refused to recognize a divorce. It is alleged that the legislation led to thousands of women being imprisoned without being proved whether they were actually guilty. This risk of imprisonment, it is contended, has kept many women from trying to bring their attackers to justice. The Commission of Inquiry on Women, headed by Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, had recommended the repeal of the Hudood Ordinances in 1997, as did the National Commission on the Status of Women in 2002. [ [http://www.hrcp-web.org/NCSW_Report.cfm NATIONAL COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN'S REPORT ON HUDOOD ORDINANCES 1979] ] The Women's Protection Bill is intended to amend Hudood Ordinance in order to address these issues.

On the other hand, the laws have been fiercely criticized by Islamist groups in Pakistan. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6152520.stm Strong feelings over Pakistan rape laws ] ] Justice (retired) Taqi Usmani, a former judge of the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan and the Sharia Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, has written a paper in which he claimed that these allegations were baseless and were not according to the facts. [Mufti Taqi Usmani (retired judge), [http://www.hudoodordinance.com/taqi-usmani-article-english.htm The Reality of ‘Women Protection Bill’] ] In addition, he cited a study by Charles Kennedy, pertinent portion of which states:

"Women fearing conviction under Section 10(2) frequently bring charges of rape under 10(3) against their alleged partners. The FSC finding no circumstantial evidence to support the latter charge, convict the male accused under section 10(2)….the women is exonerated of any wrongdoing due to reasonable doubt rule."(Charles Kennedy: The Status of Women in Pakistan in Islamization of Laws page 74) [Mufti Taqi Usmani (retired judge), [http://www.hudoodordinance.com/taqi-usmani-article-english.htm The Reality of ‘Women Protection Bill’] ]

Consequently, this issue is one of the widely debated ones both by politicians and by religious scholars, often only representing a single point of view. Liberal politicians and women's' rights activists have welcomed the reforms as progress - but say they do not go far enough. The Religious political parties however are against the Bill calling it un-Islamic. They argue that the bill goes against articles 2a and 227 of the constitution of Pakistan, which state respectively that "Islam will be the state religion" and "No laws will be passed which are repugnant to the Koran and sunnah." The government has called the legislation "historic" and says that it does not go against the tenets of Islam.Fact|date=September 2008

ee also

* Pervez Musharraf
* Zia ul-Haq
* Hudood Ordinance
*Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal

External links

* [http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/legislation/2006/wpb.html Text of Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act, 2006 a.k.a. Women's Protection Bill]

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Women's Action Forum — (WAF) is a women s rights organization and has a presence in several cities in Pakistan. It is a non partisan, non hierarchical and non funded organization. It is supportive of all aspects of women s rights and related issues, irrespective of… …   Wikipedia

  • Women in Pakistan — The status of women in Pakistan varies considerably across classes, regions, and the rural/urban divide due to uneven socioeconomic development and the impact of tribal, feudal, and capitalist social formations on women s lives. The Pakistani… …   Wikipedia

  • Women's rights — The term women s rights refers to the freedoms inherently possessed by women and girls of all ages, which may be institutionalized, ignored or suppressed by law, custom, and behavior in a particular society. These liberties are grouped together… …   Wikipedia

  • Women's suffrage — U.S. women suffragists demonstrating for the right to vote, February 1913 Women s suffrage or woman suffrage[1] is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed… …   Wikipedia

  • Women in India — The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes over the past few millennia. From a largely unknown status in ancient times through the low points of the medieval period, to the promotion of equal rights by many reformers, the …   Wikipedia

  • Bill C-60 (38th Canadian Parliament, 1st Session) — Bill C 60 was a proposed law to amend the Canadian Copyright Act initiated by the Government of Canada in the First Session of the Thirty Eighth Parliament. Introduced by then Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for Status of… …   Wikipedia

  • women's movement — n. a movement or campaign to achieve WOMEN S RIGHTS, specif., the widespread movement begun in the mid 20th cent. chiefly in North America and Europe * * * Diverse social movement, largely based in the U.S., seeking equal rights and opportunities …   Universalium

  • Bill Sizemore — Personal details Born June 2, 1951 (1951 06 02) (age 60) Aberdeen, Washington Political party Republican Spouse(s) …   Wikipedia

  • Women's rights in Iran — and for Iranian Women s social movement see Women s rights movement in Iran. The Iranian women s movement, also called the Persian women s movement, involves the movement for women s rights and women s equality in Iran. The movement first emerged …   Wikipedia

  • Women's Health and Human Life Protection Act — The Women s Health and Human Life Protection Act was a state law passed by the South Dakota State Legislature in early 2006. It emerged as an effort to overturn Roe v. Wade via enacting a ban on abortion in the state of South Dakota. The law was… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”