Human Rights Bill

Humanlity power:

News flash revealed the some basic information about the bill of human rights in previous years.News flash is concerned this human rights. After 2005 when Pakistani women received humiliating treatment from the powers that be the year that has just ended brought them glad tidings. From being accused of bringing a had name to the country internationally and making false charges of rape to obtain a Canadian visa, the women in Pakistan found the presidential tables quite suddenly turned in their favour. The year 2006 was the year when the Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill was passed in parliament, the vociferous opposition from the religious parties notwithstanding.

This was also the year when the Women's Action Forum celebrated its silver jubilee and it had much to feel satisfied about, given the winds of change blowing in the legal and legislative fields. After all it was the indictment of a couple under the draconian, anti-woman law — the Zina Ordinance of 1979 — that had led to the birth of WAF in 1981. Set up to struggle against the injustices imposed on women, this umbrella organization has come a long way in firmly placing women's rights on the agenda of Pakistani politics. WAF has also created much public awareness of the rights of women and has lobbied for their improved status. It has consistently demanded the repeal of all the discriminatory laws, including the Hudood Ordinances. Though the WPB has not met this demand, it has at least taken some of the bite out of this infamous decree.

No rape case:

Now rape cannot be equated with adultery as was the case before. Neither can any vengeful man go and file an FIR against a woman wrongly alleging immoral behaviour on her part to get her thrown into prison for no wrong she may have done. The procedure of reporting adultery has been changed. A case can now be registered only after a judge has examined the witnesses and the accuser to satisfy himself that there is some substance in the charge.

In July, even before the WPB was brought before the National Assembly, the president issued an ordinance making the offences under the Hudood Laws bailable. As a result nearly 1,300 women were released from jails all over the country.

The momentum created by these changes in the Hudood Ordinances encouraged the government to proceed further in the same direction. The day after the WPB had been passed by the

Assembly, the PML-Q's president, Chaudry Shujaat,submitted to the Speaker another bill to out an end to many anti-women practices common in Pakistani society. This criminalized the deprivation of women of their inheritance, the practice of vani (giving girls in marriage to settle disputes), forced marriage of women, resort to the triple divorce, a woman's marriage with the Quran and Watta Satta (exchange marriages).

 Inarguably, in the context of human rights of which women's rights are an integral part, these legal enactments made headlines. But when seen against the backdrop of the ground realities ' of the lives of women in Pakistan it was felt that the governments policies touched only the tip of the iceberg. The changes in the Fludood laws will make an impact on the women who actually land up before the courts. It will also improve the Musharraf government image which had been badly tarnished by the president's indiscreet statements in the United States in 2005.

 But as far as the overall status of women was concerned, it did not show any pronounced improvement on the ground in the outgoing year. They continued to be the victims of violence of the most pernicious kind, often leading to murder. Karo Kari, death sentences by Jirgas and domestic violence, the most widespread form of physical abuse, have continued to plague the women of this country. The record for 2006 will only be known when the various human rights bodies compile their annual reports after the year has ended.

Social Rights 

As for the denial of their social and economic rights, women were the doubly oppressed section of the population. As the country's key indicators in the education, health, employment sectors and control over resources showed, women lagged behind men — mostly on account of the government's failure to attend to the social sectors and its lack of commitment towards promoting the cause of women. Again, the figures for 2006 are not available as yet but the women's situation emerges as so abysmal from earlier data that one can safely assume that the year 2006 would not have brought about any dramatic changes. UNDP's Human Development Report 2006 and Unicers The State of the Wor!d's Children, 2007, released in the closing months of the year, contain interesting data:

• Female adult literacy rate                               36%
•  Combined enrolment of girls in School          32%
• Femal senior managers                                   2%
• Ratio of female to male income                       0.29%
• Female economic activity/male rate                38%

          But what was mot disconcerting was the political rumpus that accompanied the enactment of the Protection of Women Bill when it was introduced in the National Assembly on August 21. The MMA, an alliance of six religious parties, expressed vehement opposition to the bill saying it violated the injunctions of the Quran and the Sunnah. The bill, as amended by a parliamentary select committee, was passed by the NA on November 15 with the support of the PPP-P and the PML-Q's coalition partner, the MQM. The Senate adopted the bill on November 23 and the president signed it into law on December 1. True in the final analysis the government stood firm against the blackmailing tactics and threats of the religious leaders.

However, many felt skeptical about the government's commitment towards women's rights, given the manner in which the bill was handled. it was widely felt that politics rather than the will to alleviate women's hardship was involved in the three month drama that was enacted in Islamabad to pave the way for the adoption of the WPB. When the bill was introduced, some reservations were expressed from several quarters, especially the PPP-P that had demanded the repeal of the ordinances. Hence a parliamentary select committee was set up to revise the bill. Rejecting the parliamentary processes, the MMA refused to participate in this body in which the PPP-P played an active and positive role.

 When the revised draft was placed before the House, the religious parties jumped in the fray to launch an attack against it and the ruling PML-Q got cold feet. Once again the draft was taken up by an extra-parliamentary committee of ulema. They dillydallied with the bill -- that was not unexpected since religious scholars cannot reach a consensus on any issue given the various fighs and schools of thought that have divided Islam for the last several centuries.

The willingness of Chaudhry Shaujaat Hussain and some of his colleagues in the ruling party to play to the religious gallery undermined confidence in the government's commitment to democracy. He appeared willing to bypass parliamentary processes to please the Islamists. The president's own past record of joining hands with the Islamic group in his attempt to marginalize the ‘/;secularist parties and his strategy of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds in his war on terror have created a credibility gap. Now that the elections are round the corner and much political realignment is expected to take place, many are asking, is Musharraf's stance on the women's bill a part of his polling campaign strategy?

Human Rights