ISLAMABAD: Broken criminal justice system and misrepresentation of religion, as witnessed in the ‘dharna’ last month at Faizabad were the core issues in the continuing violence in the country and the worst sufferers were women.
This was stated by Senator Farhatullah Babar at the launch of three publications on women’s related issues by the National Commission on the status of Women at a local hotel in Islamabad today.
He said that even a constitutional body like the Council of Islamic Ideology had interpreted religion in ways that militate against women.
At the time of the passage by the Sindh Assembly of the Child Marriage Act requiring a minimum age of 18 years for marriage of girls the then Chairman of the Council had asked for treason trial of members of the Provincial Assembly.
Sometime ago the council decreed that DNA tests were not permissible in rape cases, he said beating of wives by husbands is also permissible according to the council but community homes for elderly are not permissible as these are against our cultural norms and traditions, he said.
He called for maintaining a catalog of crimes against women in the country and the status of court cases. If ever such a catalog was made it would be nothing less than a National Register of Shame and Horror. But we must maintain such a catalog as it might persuade state and society to deeply reflect on continuing violence against women with impunity.
He also called for the appointment of a Special Pubic Prosecutor to pursue on behalf of the state cases of violence against women.
If we can demand a special public Prosecutor for crimes against media persons then why can’t the same be demanded for 50% of the population which is also very vulnerable, he said.
He said newer verities of violence against women are invented every year. They are victims of violence in the name of men’s honor and subjected to gang rape and acid throwing to disfigure them and the instruments of violence against them vary from area to area. It is a kitchen stove in the Punjab, pesticide in South Punjab, axe in Sindh and guns are used everywhere else.
About the ‘jirga’ system he said that by excluding women from it and institutionally degrading them and the ‘jirga’s’ have been nothing but instruments of violence against women.
To empower and enable them to fight crime women must have economic rights, the right to own land, the right to inheritance and equal wages. The draft Constitution of October 1950 contained clear cut provisions for ending all forms of torture and also for equal wages for women. But both the provisions were deleted in the draft Constitution which was finalized in 1956, he said.
Published in Daily Times, December 15th 2017.