ISLAMABAD July 12, 2006: Hudood Ordinances caused devastation to men and women for years and became a source of social exploitation and subjugation. These laws should be repealed and new strong laws should be made that ensure protection of womens rights.
These views wee expressed by speakers at a Dialogue on Hudood Ordinances organized by ActionAid Pakistan in collaboration with other human rights organizations here on Wednesday.The speakers at the occasion included Mr.Mushahid Hussain (PML-Q), Ms.Hina Jilani (CSO and Legal Bench), Mrs.Mehnaz Rafi (PML-Q), Ms.Fauzia Wahab (PPP) and Mr.Haji Mohammad Adeel (ANP).
Human rights organizations, womens rights activists, the media and many members of the political parties have consistently opposed the Hudood Ordinances and other discriminatory legislation, such as the Qisas and Diyat and Law of Evidence over the last twenty seven year. These laws were introduced by the military dictator Zia-ul-Haq in the name of "Islamization" to build a constituency for his illegal rule. The laws were rejected by civil society organizations on the grounds that they clearly violated the basic principles of gender equality and social justice.
In the Law of Evidence two female witnesses were termed equal to one man. The Hudood Laws made a relationship outside marriage a crime against the State and women's testimony was excluded in cases of Hadd. The burden to prove the crime was shifted to female victims by demanding that they produce four Muslim male witnesses in the case of rape. Women's pregnancy was considered as proof of consensual sex even when it was the result of rape. The Hudood Laws confused physical maturity with mental maturity. A female was considered an adult at 16 or puberty. This meant that a girl who reached puberty at the age of nine or ten was liable for punishment under the law. The Qisas and Diyat Law enabled murderers and criminals to escape punishment by paying off the victims family or threatening and terrorizing them to "forgive" and/or accept compensation. In the case of women killed in the name of “honour” the Qisas and Diyat Law has served to encourage the crime by allowing murderers of women to go scot free, as family members who murder are forgiven by other relatives. Also, these Laws violate the rights of minorities by being imposed on non-Muslims and by not admitting their witness in cases where a crime was committed against a Muslim.
The laws, which are violative of the Constitution and international commitments made by the country as signatory to CEDAW and the Beijing Platform of Action, have destroyed the lives of thousands of women, mostly those belonging to the poor strata of the society. They have been used extensively against women who have married from choice, against women who have been raped, and against women who have re-married after divorce. The independent Inquiry Commission on Women, 1997, and the National Commissions on the Status of Women, 2000, set up by different governments have unambiguously recommended the repeal of the Hudood Laws.
A parliament that upholds the principles of Human's Rights and Social Justice should have the authority and the right to legislate. In addition to being full of loopholes and lacunae the Hudood Laws, the Qisas and Diyat Law and the discriminatory provision of the Law of Evidence are the product of an illegitimate political process. They have created a situation where a personal relationship is termed a crime against the State while murder is treated as a personal matter and can be compound. They have served to inflict grave injustice on the women and the poor. They have seriously undermined the criminal justice system. To restore the principle of social justice and promote human rights and democracy in the country the above unjust and discriminatory laws must be repealed, the PPC must be revived and the law on Rape must be strengthened. And we demand that all those who were responsible for formulating these laws and causing suffering to countless women and men must be prosecuted.
