Day: June 14, 2016

Recent days have seen a virtual rash of so-called ‘honour’ killings of women, usually revolving around choice of life partner. In Lahore, the other day, the most recent example of this social affliction was witnessed in the shooting dead by her father of a young woman, her husband, and a neighbour considered instrumental in her decision to marry a man of her choice about a year ago.

In a village near Murree earlier, a 19-year-old teacher was tortured and burnt alive for refusing to marry the son of the owner of the school where she taught. Teenaged Zeenat Rafiq was set on fire in a lower income neighbourhood of Lahore by her mother and brother for marrying a man of her choice. These three incidents occurred within the space of three weeks.

Similar cases have been reported from all over the country over the past few months. Why has this phenomenon, not unknown in the past, suddenly acquired such intensity? It is of course not something that is unknown in our society, based on mistaken notions of ‘honour’, faith, tribal code, tradition and culture. Its essence of course lies in structures of patriarchy.

The onward march of time and social development, combined with a growing consciousness regarding women’s rights, has encouraged women to assert their place under the sun. This provokes perhaps redoubled fury at the ‘disobedient’. Neither our faith nor modern values in harmony with the twenty first century justify such attitudes, let alone taking the law into one’s own hands and resorting to cruel, bloody murder. Islam sees marriage as a contract between two consenting adults.

While the wishes of parents and family deserve consideration, they cannot override the preferences and choices of young adult women. Retrograde ideas and attitudes inform seeing such choices as besmirching family ‘honour’ and therefore justifying putting the ‘errant’ women to death. Two aspects feed into such practices. One, retrogressive religious parties and forces that reinforce medieval notions of family honour and women’s place (or lack of it) in society. Recently, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) delivered its latest enlightenment in the shape of instructions on the correct method of beating one’s wife (“lightly”).

The CII, in the opinion of some Senators and wide swathes of enlightened opinion, has long passed its Use-by date. Calls for its abolition are mounting in direct proportion to the antediluvian nature of its pronouncements. Two, the law as it stands encourages such killings because the loophole regarding the victim’s family forgiving the perpetrator or accepting blood money provides impunity to those guilty of such crimes.

Both aspects can be illustrated and understood by reference to the fate of the Anti-Honour Killings Bill, 2014 (formally the Criminal Laws Amendment Bill), tabled by former PPP Senator Sughra Imam in March 2015. The Bill sought to criminalise so-called honour killings and amend the provisions that all too often allow the perpetrators of such crimes to walk free after being ‘forgiven’ or paying blood money. Either or both of these outcomes come relatively easy to the rich and powerful.

The irony is that the Bill was unanimously passed by the Senate, including support from such religious parties as the JUI-F. Unfortunately, it lapsed before the National Assembly could get around to passing it. In March 2016, the same JUI-F rejected the Bill, arguing for clauses allowing aggrieved parties to forgive the perpetrators to be retained. It now remains for the government to take the Bill out of the cold storage to which it was consigned thanks to the religious parties, and push it through a joint session of parliament.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of late had donned the mantle of women’s rights champion. The murders referred to above are a stark reminder that delay is fatal. Our political leadership must pluck up courage, gird up their loins, shed their fear of the retrogressive lobby, and strike a blow for our besieged sisters and daughters to allow Pakistani society to move forward out of the dark night we are witnessing and into a bright new day where no daughter of the nation will ever again be burnt for her life choices and the murderers get away lightly or even scot-free.

Business Recorder

By: Haroon Janjua

Islamabad – The recent burning of a teenage girl by her own mother in the name of honour has triggered the debate on so-called honour killings in the country.

Last week in the country’s eastern city of Lahore, an 18-year-old Zeenat Rafiq was drenched with kerosene oil and set on fire because the girl had challenged the social norms by marrying a man of her own choice.

The case stirred the countrywide anger among the civil society and human rights activists but such killings are common in Pakistan.

Lahore’s Zeenat Rafiq is the most recent case in the series of such occurrences in recent months. However, recently, in the hilly town of Murree a 21-year-old schoolteacher Maria Bibi was set ablaze for refusing to marry a man twice of her age. Later, she succumbed to her injuries at PIMS, Islamabad, on May 31.

Earlier in May, a 16-year-old girl Ambreen was strangled and set on fire in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, after the decision given by the local jirga.

Jirgas and customary laws run parallel with the democratic constitution of the country in resolving local disputes. Ambreen was punished for helping her school friend to elope with her lover.

In Pakistan, the victims have been killed by relatives for getting raped, being homosexual, committing adultery and actions that bring shame or dishonour to the family.

“There has been an increase in the honour killing cases in various parts of the country. Media and police records show the sudden rise in such crimes, which is a discouraging element for the society,” says Tahira Abdullah, human rights activist.

Simultaneously, she told The Nation that Pakistan is becoming highly polarised society with moderate powers giving ground and fundamentalist radical forces having a broader say in determining the country’s laws and politics.

Various critics view that the bill against honour killings was passed in 2004 but it has hitherto been badly followed.

Moreover, human rights activists view that even with the sounder implementation, the law itself is not adequate enough to preclude such practices. “Legislation cannot do practically enough until there is a positive change and development in social positioning of the women,” Dr Farzana Bari, an Islamabad-based women rights activist told The Nation.

However, there is an urgent requirement for fortifying the current law against honour killings, Bari stressed, indicating that at present most the such cases are not been followed up in court. This resulted in the rise of such crimes being committed with impunity, she believes.

Samar Minullah, a social activist and filmmaker suggested, “The state has to become defender of victims of honour killings and ensure rigorous punishment for the culprits.”

Minullah also blamed the country’s mainstream media of partially strengthening anti-women social approaches by portraying women as subservient entities in television transmissions and serials. However, she also criticised the media in reporting such incidents, saying: “Media to a greater extent recklessly glorifies the killers in such cases.”

However, the situation ignites when the Pakistan’s top clerical body, Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), has taken controversial stances in recent months, saying that a husband should be allowed to “lightly beat” his wife, besides declaring a women’s protection legislation “un-Islamic.”

Rights activists asked if the CII or any other religious body, whatsoever, has ever come forward and condemned crimes committed against women in this country.

Activists accept that it is not easy to change societal behaviour towards women in Pakistan. They are committed with the cause and vow to carry on their efforts to eradicate such anti-women practices from the society.

The HRCP complainant cell head, Zaman Khan denounced the government on the issue. The government has not appointed a chairperson for the National Commission on Status of Women for the past six months – one of the major governmental bodies regarding women rights.

In February, when filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy won the Oscar ward on her short documentary “A girl in the river,” various activists and campaigners in Pakistan took heart from the Sharmeen’s award which pressed for the stronger legislations to protect potential victims. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is committed to bring forth the stronger legislation on honour killing and give women their due rights for achieving the shared goal of prosperous and vibrant Pakistan.

The Nation