ISLAMABAD: Members of the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights on Tuesday held the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) responsible for the rise in violence against women and recommended that it should be disbanded. They urged the government to ban the use of Qisas and Diyat laws in honour killing cases. The CII, a constitutional body, advises the legislature if a law is repugnant to Islam, especially Holy Quran and Sunnah. The senate committee’s recommendations come just a month after the CII, in a proposed women’s protection bill, ruled that “lightly beating” one’s wife was permissible in Islam. During a meeting, the committee observed that the “anti-women” stance of the CII permitted violence against women and contributed to crimes against them. Committee Chairperson Senator Nasreen Jalil said that CII’s recommendations encouraged a negative attitude towards women and incited violence against them. The body’s recommendations only added to the miseries of women instead of providing any relief to them, Jalil said, adding that CII members appeared to be unaware of legislating in the modern age. Jalil said the CII recommendation, which allowed a husband to beat his wife, made no sense. She said “not accepting DNA tests as evidence in rape cases shows the backwardness of members of the council”. Earlier, PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar demanded disbandment of the CII and called for withdrawal of the Rs 100 million fund allocated for the body for fiscal year 2016-17. “There is no reason for the Council of Islamic Ideology to continue its job and it should not send more reports to the Parliament for legislation,” Babar said during his speech on the budget in the Senate. “This is the council, which says husband can beat his wife,” said Babar. He said the CII also rejected DNA as a proof in rape cases. He said the council suggested that people should write Kalma Tayyaba on their homes so that the culture of jihad could be promoted. “A council should not continue its job with so many controversies,” Babar said, adding that the council has declared minimum age for a girl’s marriage as un-Islamic. He expressed his concerns about the increase in the annual budget for the council and asked the government to withdraw the funds allocated for the CII. “Money allocated for the council should be given to the National Commission for the Protection of Women,” the senator stated. The senate committee also decided to write a letter to the Law Ministry to question the constitutional position of the council. On the other hand, Senator Babar called for appointment of observers to monitor military courts’ proceedings. “We are unaware of what happens in the military courts,” Babar said, adding that members of the National Commission for Human Rights should be allowed to monitor military courts’ proceedings. He said that people had the right to know about the crimes of the accused given death sentences by military courts and a press release should also be issued by a military spokesperson.