Summary
Despite accession to the Convention on Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and
enactment of laws in line with the Constitution to
protect women, violence against women in Pakistan remains
rampant.
Violence against women, in various forms such as
sexual harassment, killings, kidnapping, chopping and
domestic violence, results in both physical, mental
suffering, and even death. Sometimes the
perpetrators are strangers, but most of the time, the
violence is conducted by husbands, male relatives and
friends. In Pakistani society, women and girls are
not encouraged to participate in social life and
restricted from freedom of movement. There are many
cases that violence is imposed as punishment of a woman's
"deviant acts". This adversely affects
women's liberty and personal development.
A lack of law enforcement and the presence of
discriminatory laws are two major factors intensifying
the abuse to women along with the discrimination imbedded
in people's cultural life. As such, local
non-governmental organizations are campaigning for the
enactment of laws on domestic violence against
women. It is part of the action to echo the
International Day for Elimination of Violence against
Women on 25 November. Local groups believe your
support can add voice to their efforts.
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Action Requested
Please write polite letters to the authorities in
Pakistan urging them to:
- repeal all discriminatory laws against women,
especially the Hudood Ordinances and the Qisas
and Diyat Law;
- include recommendations by civil society
organizations of Pakistan in the drafting of the
Domestic Violence against Women Bill;
- provide adequate protection, medical and legal
assistance for victims of gender-based violence;
- promote gender equality through education,
conducting and publicizing research on violence
against women; and
- withdraw the reservations to CEDAW and ratify the
optional protocol to CEDAW.
| Send
letters to: |
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Mr. Asif Ali Zardari
President of Pakistan
President's Avenue
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
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Fax: |
+92-51-921 1018
+92-51-922 1422 |
| Send
copies to: |
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Mr. Farooq H. Naek
Minister for Law Justice and Human Rights
Human Rights Wing, US Aid Building
Ataturk Avenue (East), G-5
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Ms Sherry Rehman
Minister for Women Development
1/F, State Building: 5
Ministry of Women Development
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Chaudhry Nisar Ali
Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz
House No 20-H streets 10, sector F-8/3
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Diplomatic representatives of Pakistan in your
country
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Fax:
Fax:
Fax:
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+92-51-920 6022
+92-51-920 1083
+92-51-285 2662
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Sample
Letter
We write with grave concern
on the prevailing and worsening situation of
human rights violations against women in
Pakistan. The systematic incidents of
honour killing, chopping, gang-rape, acid attack,
stove burning, domestic and other forms of
violence against women. In particular, the
problem is more serious in the tribal areas of
Sindh, Balochistan and North West Frontier
Province. Disappointingly, the government
has not taken adequate steps to cope with this
burning issue.
Recently, several laws which aim at
promoting gender equality and protecting women
from violence were adopted or amended, such as
Criminal Law Amendment Act 2004 and Protection of
Women Act 2006. However, the government
must take action to ensure law enforcement and
criminal justice. On the other hand,
notwithstanding the Constitution stipulating that
there should not be discrimination based on
gender as a fundamental rights in article 25(2),
some of the domestic laws are unable to actualize
the spirit of the Constitution to uphold gender
equality. For example, the Hudood
Ordinances, the Law of Evidence and the Qisas and
Diyat Law appear to undermine the testimony of
female victims and witnesses, and discourage the
bringing of perpetrators to justice.
At the international level, we welcome
that Pakistan acceded to the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW) in 1996. Reservations
that the government has made which are
incompatible to the object and purpose of CEDAW
should be withdrawn. In addition, Pakistan
should sign the Optional Protocol which permits
victims to file complaint to the CEDAW Committee.
We therefore urge your authority to:
- repeal all discriminatory laws against
women, especially the Hudood Ordinances
and the Qisas and Diyat Law;
- include recommendations by civil society
organizations of Pakistan in the drafting
of the Domestic Violence against Women
Bill;
- provide adequate protection, medical and
legal assistance for victims of
gender-based violence;
- promote gender equality through
education, conducting and publicizing
research on violence against women; and
- withdraw the reservations to CEDAW and
ratify the optional protocol to CEDAW.
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Background
The police, administration and the judicial system
often view violence against women as either non-existent
or limited to extreme acts. Although the number of
violent incidents against women is increasing, the
Pakistani government continues to tolerate these acts by
failing to hold perpetrators accountable. This lack
of accountability is detrimental to gender equality
within society and the judicial system. As a
result, Pakistani women are living under fear.
The 2007 Annual Report of the Human Rights
Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) revealed that violence
against women was unchecked. The HRCP documented
4,276 cases of violence against women, including 73 rape,
636 honour killing, 736 kidnapping cases. It is
believed that the number was just the tip of the iceberg.
Discriminatory Laws against Women
The Criminal Amendment Act 2006 was passed to
amend the controversial Hudood laws and the Criminal Law
Amendment Act 2004 adopted to protect women from
gender-based violence. However, the legislation
failed to address the cases of injustices. This
discourages women victim from seeking justice and
provides impunity to the perpetrator.
Hudood Laws
The Hudood Laws are a collection of criminal law,
including the Offence of Zina, the Offence of Qazf,
Qanun-e-Shahadat (the Law of Evidence), the Prohibition
Order and Execution of punishment of Whipping
Order. The first three ordinances are directly
related to women in Pakistan.
The Offence of Zina (Rape)
The offence of Zina (Rape) relates to the crime of
rape, abduction, adultery and fornication. It is one of
the most common crimes against women but grossly
underreported due to the shame attached to the victim.
Under this law, four adult male Muslims of good
repute are required as witnesses in proving rape, making
it impossible for rape victims to get justice. If a
rape victim cannot prove rape, she can be charged with
and sentenced for adultery.
The Offence of Qazf
"Qazf" covers false accusation of Zina
(see above) with the purpose to protect reputation of the
accused person.
The Law of Evidence
The value of testimony of a woman in courts was
reduced to half of a man's testimony in civil and
criminal procedures
Qisas and Diyat
Qisas means causing similar damage to the criminal
as punishment while Diyat is a punishment in cash or any
valuable by the criminal, if the victim of the aggrieved
party agree to acknowledge. The crimes of assault
and murder cannot be dealt with under the Qisas and
Diyat. As a result, perpetrators can be pardoned
when they offer compensation to the victims.
A Lack of Law Enforcement
Apart from the discriminatory law, customary
practices reflected the failure of law enforcement.
Child Marriage and Watta Satta
The Child Marriages Restraint Act prohibits the
marriage of children under 16. In tribal areas and
Punjab province, child marriage, called "Vani"
are practised in order to resolve disputes between
different tribes unless the girl's family pays
money. Meanwhile, Watta Satta is a tribal custom in
which brides are traded between two clans. This
results in forced marriage.
Honor Killings
A majority of the victims of "honor
killings" are women and the punishments meted out to
perpetrators often tend to be lenient. The practice
of summary killing of a person suspected of an illicit
relationship is known as "karo kari" in Sindh
and Balochistan. Laws were passed to criminalize
“ honour killings” in 2004 but the
practise prevails.
Ms Sherry Rehman, the Minister for Women
Development and Information, as well as a party-member of
Pakistan's People's Party, drafted and called for
amendments to five bills regarding the women's rights in
the National Assembly. These include the Women
Empowerment Bill, the Anti-Honor Killing Bill, the
Domestic Violence Protection Bill, the Affirmative Action
Bill and the Hudood Ordnances Repeal Bill. However
these recommendations and bills have not been legislated.
More information of gender-based violence can be
found in the HRCP Annual Report, the State of Human
Rights 2007
(http://www.hrcp-web.org/hrcpDetail_pub3.cfm?proId=528).
Concerning gender-based violence in Pakistan, Hotline
Asia issued UA990524(7) in May 1999.
Source:
Local Source
Human Rights Commission of
Pakistan
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