Women related laws in Pakistan

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The legislative assembly of Pakistan has enacted a number of measures designed to give women more power in the areas of family, inheritance, revenue, civil and criminal laws. These measures are an attempt to safeguard women's right to freedom of speech and expression without gender discrimination. These measures are enacted keeping in mind the principles described by the Quran.[1]

Laws such as the Muslim Personal Law of Sharia (addressing a woman's right to inherit all forms of property), the Muslim Family Law Ordinance or MFLO (intended to protect women against unjust but prevailing practices in regards to marriage, divorce, polygamy and other personal relationships), and the Hudood Ordinance have been legislated for ensuring the rights of women. The Hudood Ordinance was seen as working at cross-purposes to the rights of women by victimizing women only, which was corrected by the introduction of Women's Protection Bill.

The Sexual Harassment Bill was created to ensure women's safety in public and work spaces, while the Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Bill sought to constitutionally protect women against discriminatory social practices, such as forced marriages, intended to deprive women of their inheritance rights.[2] The bill incorporated strong penalties for offenders. The Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Bill aimed at controlling the import, production, transportation, hoarding, sale and use of acid, and provide legal support to acid burn victims.[3] Penalties include imprisonment anywhere from fourteen years to life and fines of up to 1 million rupees.

Constitutional equal rights

Constitutionally, Pakistani Muslim women are able to vote, participate in elections, hold public offices and pursue most professions.[1]

Laws which protect the rights and safety of women

  • The Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill (2009)
  • The Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Act (2010)
  • The Protection Against Harassment of Women in the Workplace Act (2010)[4]
  • The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act (2010)
  • The Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Act (2011)
  • The Women in Distress and Detention Fund (2011)
  • The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act (targeted at preventing acid-related crimes) (2011)
  • The Domestic Violence Prevention and Protection Bill (2012)
  • The National Commission on the Status of Women Act (2012)
  • The National Commission for Human Rights Act (2012)
  • Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018
  • The Dowry and Bridal Gifts Act
  • The Women, Violence and Jirgas Act
  • Marriage in the Quran
  • Women Agriculture Bill 2019[5]
  • Sindh Women Agriculture Workers Act (SWAWA) of 2019 passed in 2021[6]

Family laws

Marriageable age and divorce

Divorce in Pakistan is mainly regulated by the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act (1939, amended in 1961) and the Family Courts Act (1964). The Child Marriage Restraint Act or CMRA (1929) set the marriageable age for women at 16; in the province of Sindh, as per the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act, it is 18.

Inheritance

Main article: Inheritance law in Pakistan

Under British rule, the Married Women’s Property Act (1874) was in force, which primarily defined issues related to pre-marriage and post-marriage assets, liability and insurance. The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act (1937) and its successor, the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act (1961), provide Muslim women with limited inheritance rights; they received half of the amount assigned to sons, raised to two-thirds if there were no sons, and further complex calculations settled the remainder per sectarian principles.[7] While this right to inheritance existed on paper, customarily it was not observed in fact,[8] so the Government of Pakistan enacted strong provisions in sections 498 A and 498 C of the Prevention of Anti-Women Practices (Criminal Law Amendment) Act (2011) to ensure women received their proper inheritance.[7]

Pakistan, as a signatory of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), is expected to progress towards eliminating property discrimination and recognizing the equality of citizens as a fundamental right.[7][8]

Law of Evidence

See also: Status of women's testimony in Islam; Judiciary of Pakistan § Harassment of women judges; and 1983 women's march, Lahore
Conservative outlook

"..the Qur’anic provisions
with regard to women's posture
vis-a-vis their evidence
is clear and that two of them
are equal to one man.
This is a bitter pill
which a modern
and educated woman
will have to swallow
in an Islamic society."
~ Dr. Israr Ahmed

[9]

Feminist complaint

"..the provision has
belittled the status of
several women working as
administrators, bankers,
lawyers and judges,
for they often have to request
their male clerks and peons
to attest documents
drawn up by them."
~ Rashida Patel

[9]

Until 1987, the British Evidence Act of 1872 remained applicable in Pakistan, which otherwise did not have any laws regarding gender discrimination in the legal system. Since the 1970s when the process of Islamization under General Zia Ul Haq started in Pakistan, many laws have been altered according to Islamic Sharia. As part of the same process, the Evidence Act was replaced by Qanun-e-Shahada on 26 October 1984, though it did not come into effect until 1987.[10] As of that year, in cases of Hadd, the evidence of women is not admissible. Further, in cases involving financial or other future obligations, written instructions and documents must be attested by either two men or one man and two women.[10] In other legal proceedings it is left to the judge's discretion whether to admit a woman's testimony as equal.[10]

According to Nida Usman Chaudhry:

The process and evidentiary requirements kept in our law put the women victim at an extreme disadvantage because in absence of admissible evidence — which again is determined by men and would invariably be missing in such cases, the woman would be subjected to a potential counter suit for defamation by the accused which acts a huge deterrent in her seeking her rights and legal remedies (if any at all). .. Even if she comes forward, she is only taken seriously if two or more women also come out in support of her claim against the accused. Her own testimony is not enough and our tragedy, as explained by one my colleagues, Ms Dania Mukhtar, is that while Qanoon e Shahadat reduced women to half, this expectation of other women supporting the victim’s claim in harassment cases has now further reduced women to a fraction of their being.[11]

Other

In 2021 the Lahore High Court banned the use of virginity tests in cases where women claim they were raped.[12]

See also

General:

References

  1. ^ a b Ramzan, Muhammad; Javaid, Kashif (2019). "Freedom of Speech: Infringement of Women Rights in Pakistan". Saussurea. 9. Iqbal Tauseef, Buksh Ilahi: 28–38.
  2. ^ "National Assembly passes landmark women's rights bill". The Express Tribune. 15 November 2011.
  3. ^ "Women-specific bills passed: Fourteen-year jail term for acid-throwers". The Express Tribune. 12 December 2011.
  4. ^ Saleem, Sana (4 March 2010). "Logging on to empower women". DAWN.COM.
  5. ^ "WDF hails passing of Sindh Women Agriculture Workers Bill". www.thenews.com.pk.
  6. ^ Reporter, The Newspaper's Staff (2022-06-27). "Peasants' rights report shows govt flouts laws". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  7. ^ a b c Chaudhary, Azam; Holden, Livia (8 May 2013). "Daughters' inheritance, legal pluralism, and governance in Pakistan". The Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law. 45 (1): 104–123. doi:10.1080/07329113.2013.781447. S2CID 144097184.
  8. ^ a b Ijaz Butt, Beenish; Zada Asad, Amir (2016). "Refutation, Relinquishment and Inheritance: Exploring Women'sInheritance Rights in Pakistan" (PDF). Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences (PJSS). 36 (2): 1001–1009.
  9. ^ a b Rao, Muhammad Atif Aslam (2020-05-24). "Islamization of Law of Evidence in Pakistan with Specific Reference to Testimony of a Woman". SSRN 3609096.
  10. ^ a b c Rao, Dr Muhammad Atif Aslam (2020-05-24). "Islamization of Law of Evidence in Pakistan with Specific Reference to Testimony of a Woman". Rahat-ul-Quloob. 4, Issue.1(Jan-Jun: 2020). Rochester, NY: 1 to 12. SSRN 3609096 – via SSRN.
  11. ^ Chaudhary, Nida Usman (2018-05-10). "Law and women: an unequal relationship". Daily Times. Retrieved 2022-06-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ 🖉"Pakistan court bans virginity tests for rape survivors". www.aljazeera.com.
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