Hotline Asia Urgent Appeals -- UA990524(7)

Action Requested || Sample Letter || Background

Summary

In Article 25 of the 1973 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan it states: "all citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law; there shall be no discrimination on the basis of sex alone; and nothing in this Article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the protection of women and children." This Article reflects the content of Article 2 and 7 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Pakistan's ratification in 1996 of the United Nation's Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, however, has failed to bring an end to discriminatory practices or human rights violations against women. Four Islamic criminal laws - the Hudood Ordinances ( introduced in 1979, have been widely criticized as discriminatory legislation.

According to sources, women human rights activists and organizations challenging Islamic laws in Pakistan are now being subjected to a full-scale attack (a one-year chronology of events up to 13 May 1999 documenting the Pakistan government's measures to limit the work of human rights organizations and journalists is available from Hotline upon request). The latest crackdown by authorities has included non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including those receiving support from overseas, critical of government policies and who have drawn attention to discriminatory legislation are accused of engaging in anti-state and anti-Islam activities.

Please write to the Government of Pakistan expressing your concern about the discrimination against women in the country by:

• Calling for a renewed commitment to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;

• Taking practical steps to abolish the Hudood and Zina Ordinances as they relate to the discrimination of women;

• Seeking long term and reasonable solutions to ensure the protection of the rights of women and their advocates.

Sample Letter

Background

Pakistan was founded as an Islamic State in August 1947. Its founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, clearly spelt out this in his inaugural address to the Constituent Assembly by saying that Pakistan's founding principles were to be equality, equity and social justice. Fifty years and various discriminatory legislation later has eroded these lofty principles.

A third constitution, formulated in 1973, included a chapter on Fundamental Rights but made no distinction on the basis of gender while Articles 25 (equality of citizens), 26 (non-discrimination in respect of access to public spaces) and 27 (safeguards against discrimination in service) clearly provide for affirmative action. Additionally Articles 34 and 35 require the state to ensure full participation of women in all spheres of national life, with specific protections for marriage, the family, mothers and their children.

During the martial law regime General Zia-ul-Haq (1977-1985), four Islamic criminal laws, the Hudood Ordinances, were introduced that negatively affected the status and rights of women. The Hudood Ordinances include the Offences Against Property Ordinance (1979), Offence of Zina Ordinance (1979), Offence of Qazaf Ordinance (1979) and the Prohibition Order (1979). Some of the provisions in these ordinances include

• a women or non-Muslim witness is not accepted. Should a man rape a woman even in the presence of several women, he cannot be convicted under the Hudood Ordinances because female witnesses are not accepted. Numerous rape cases have failed with the women often being punished under the Qazaf Ordinance (false imputation of immorality against a woman) or for adultery because the women confessed to having sexual relations.

• the Zina (adultery) Ordinance, has also been misused by women's own families as well as by former husbands to control their choices in marriage. When combined with the Qanun-e-Shahadat (Law of Evidence, 1984), making the conviction of rapists extremely difficult.

• In addition, through the introduction of Qanun-e-Shahadat, women's status rights have been further violated. A woman or group of women cannot be competent witnesses to a contract or prove that a contract took place without a man being present. This greatly decreases the ability of women to fight for a share of their husband's property during divorce precedings.

Recent Incidents
In Pakistan, 80% of women are victims of domestic violence. Discriminatory laws are the major obstacles to the improvement of the status of women in Pakistan. Women and human rights groups have challenged these laws but there had been intensified attacks on women's groups following recent protests against the Government's failure to stop the killing of women in the name of family and clan honour. The conflict was further aggravated when the authorities were accused of protecting the parents of Samia Sarwar. Sarwar was murdered on April 6 while at the office of the AGHS Legal Aid Cell in Lahore while seeking legal advice about her divorce. It was alleged that Samia's parents, who did not wish the divorce to proceed, hired someone to murder her. Human rights groups have expressed their outrage over these events and the apparent protection received from the police by Samia's parents.

In May 1999, Punjab provincial authorities closed about 1,500 non-government organizations (NGOs) and ordered an inquiry into the functioning of thousands of others. On 9 May, 1,941 NGOs registered under Social Welfare Act of 1974 had their registration revoked based on charges of malfunctioning and ineffectiveness. The groups, involved in development work, have been accused of "anti-state" and "anti-Islamic' activities. The government has justified its stance by arguing that the organizations were fake or were working to serve the interests of their foreign donors.

Further, two organizations active on women and children issues in Lahore were interrogated by the secret police on 11 and 13 May concerning their position on the country's blasphemy laws. Other NGOs, particularly those involved in human right work, Pakistan's nuclear programme, the proposed 15th Amendment to the Constitution, have been similarly visited. All of this point to a worrying trend of a growing government crackdown on human rights workers, their causes and indirectly, yet ominously their supporters overseas.

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