Women's Protection Bill
Encyclopedia
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.
who was responsible for it taking legal shape 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.
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.
The Bill also outlaws statutory rape i.e. sex with girls under the age of 16.
, 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. 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. Justice (retired) Taqi Usmani, an expert on islamic law, a former judge of the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan
and the Sharia Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
, has written a scholarly paper in which he claimed that these allegations were baseless and were not according to the facts.. 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)
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 Quran and sunnah." The government has called the legislation "historic" and says that it does not go against the tenets of Islam.
National Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly of Pakistan is the lower house of the bicameral Majlis-e-Shura, which also compromises the President of Pakistan and Senate . The National Assembly and the Senate both convene at Parliament House in Islamabad...
on 15 November 2006 is an attempt to amend the heavily criticized Hudood Ordinance
Hudood Ordinance
The Hudood Ordinance was a law in Pakistan that was enacted in 1979 as part of then-military ruler Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization and replaced or revised in 2006 by the Women's Protection Bill....
laws which govern the punishment for rape and adultery in Pakistan.
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. The chief architects of the Women's Protection Bill are reported to be former Attorney General Makhdoom Ali KhanMakhdoom Ali Khan
Makhdoom Ali Khan , is a practising Senior Advocate Supreme Court. Makhdoom Ali Khan is a former Attorney General of Pakistan, former Chairman Pakistan Bar Council, former member of the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan, former Board Member of the Federal Judicial Academy of Pakistan and a...
who was responsible for it taking legal shape and the Chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology
Council of Islamic Ideology
Council of Islamic Ideology is a constitutional body responsible for giving legal advice on Islamic issues to Pakistan Government and the Parliament.-Functions:The council has following functions:...
Muhammad Khalid Masud
Muhammad Khalid Masud
Muhammad Khalid Masud is the former Chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology in Pakistan.Masud obtained his PhD in Islamic Studies at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Previously he worked as the Academic Director of the International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World in...
.
The new Women's Protection Bill brings rape under the Pakistan Penal Code
Pakistan penal code
The Pakistan Penal Code usually called PPC is a penal code for all offences charged in Pakistan. It was originally prepared by Lord Macaulay with a great consultation in 1860 on the behalf of the Government of British India as the Indian Penal Code...
, which is based on civil law, not Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
(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.
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.
The Bill also outlaws statutory rape i.e. sex with girls under the age of 16.
Controversy
Under the Hudood OrdinanceHudood Ordinance
The Hudood Ordinance was a law in Pakistan that was enacted in 1979 as part of then-military ruler Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization and replaced or revised in 2006 by the Women's Protection Bill....
, 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. The Women's Protection Bill is intended to amend Hudood Ordinance
Hudood Ordinance
The Hudood Ordinance was a law in Pakistan that was enacted in 1979 as part of then-military ruler Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization and replaced or revised in 2006 by the Women's Protection Bill....
in order to address these issues.
On the other hand, the laws have been fiercely criticized by Islamist groups in Pakistan. Justice (retired) Taqi Usmani, an expert on islamic law, a former judge of the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan
Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan
The Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan is a court which has the power to examine and determine whether the laws of the country comply with Shari'a law...
and the Sharia Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
Supreme Court of Pakistan
The Supreme Court is the apex court in Pakistan's judicial hierarchy, the final arbiter of legal and constitutional disputes. The Supreme Court has a permanent seat in Islamabad. It has number of Branch Registries where cases are heard. It has a number of de jure powers which are outlined in the...
, has written a scholarly paper in which he claimed that these allegations were baseless and were not according to the facts.. 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)
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 Quran and sunnah." The government has called the legislation "historic" and says that it does not go against the tenets of Islam.
See also
- Pervez MusharrafPervez MusharrafPervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
- Zia ul-Haq
- Hudood OrdinanceHudood OrdinanceThe Hudood Ordinance was a law in Pakistan that was enacted in 1979 as part of then-military ruler Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization and replaced or revised in 2006 by the Women's Protection Bill....
- Muttahida Majlis-e-AmalMuttahida Majlis-e-AmalMuttahida Majlis-e-Amal is a coalition of Islamist parties that was formed in 2002 to electorally challenge the Pakistan Parliament's incumbent parties...