Tradition and Islamic Law

"The definition of domestic violence (as opposed to violence) excludes women who are abused by men in the same house but are not blood-related or married to them at the time of violence. The definition of dependent children meanwhile, excludes girls of all ages, boys over the age of 12 and young people with special needs. For this reason, it is unclear in the [Punjab] Act whether daughters can receive shelter with their mothers."
"The Act seems to suggest that in order to access emergency protection or shelter, the victim must make a complaint to the court. However, with punishment in the form of imprisonment or a significant financial penalty for filling a false complaint, victims may hesitate to make such a complaint. Often under threats from the defendant, harassment from family or due to insufficient external social support and financial dependence on the perpetrator, victims will retract their complaints, contradicting their earlier statements or claiming that their original statement was false. Legitimate victims under this Act then could be criminalised and re-victimised."
Nihal Ates, domestic violence advocate, London

Pakistan's largest province passed a law on February 25 titled the Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Act which institutes what it considers to be radical measures denying that a man can beat his wife without criminal penalty under the law. The law proposes the setting up of a hotline which women can use to report abuse they suffer. Should their accusations be proven it is possible in some instances that the offender will be required to wear a bracelet with a GPS monitor, and be denied the opportunity to possess firearms.

There was an instant backlash at the introduction of this law, however when a coalition of over 30 religious and political parties in Pakistan declared the law to be un-Islamic. They declared the law to be representative of an effort to secularize Pakistan, and as such presents as a danger to the sacred institution of the family. Should the government not withdraw and repeal the newly-introduced law they were warned to expect street protests to take place. The sanctity of the home must be recognized. When a man beats his wife, it is in the privacy of the home, not in the public arena, and as such, not criminal.

KARACHI/LAHORE: A prominent cleric in Pakistan termed the "Protection of Women against violence Bill 2015", passed by the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday, in contradiction to the Islamic Sharia and criticized it for pushing the country towards ‘secularism’.

The government-appointed council of Islamic Ideology has matched the zeal of Punjab's opposition parties' defiance of this law, in declaring the new law to be repugnant in its very nature. The objective of the council is to make certain that all laws in Pakistan are fully compliant with Sharia. In the past, the council has defended a man's right to marry a minor, declared that a man is not obligated to seek permission from a first wife before taking a second or a third, and intervened to ensure that women would not be able to prove they have been raped.

PHOTO: AYSHA SALEEM/EXPRESS

With the rise of Pakistani women's entitlements in a nation that is far more comfortable keeping women in thrall to men's wishes at every level of existence in society, there is resentment that women are becoming too entitled. Women have been wrapping up for themselves all the highest marks at university exams results, leaving to men the poorer performances, an obvious plot between academia and women's rights activists. Women work now at occupations that were not so long ago the preserve of deserving men.

On television women journalists have the unmitigated gall to pose awkward questions to men of power about politics and sports. It was not all that long ago that when Pakistani women were in the workforce, it was as menials, working unimportant jobs. Or they served in traditional professions such as medicine or teaching, or even law. Now they head companies, engage in police work, direct films, fly planes. Clearly, the world is turning upside down and inside out.

When the bill was passed, there were some parliamentary members who saw fit to be absent from the Punjab assembly. As lawmakers they would not involve themselves in such un-Islamic excesses.