How Pakistani women struggle against men and law.

For all those men and women out there, who stand stalwartly against the forces of women liberation in Pakistan, I suggest that you read “Five ways to kill a man” by Edwin Brock. It might furnish you with better ideas to do your task as death could be no worst then repressing the rights of a human born free.
The human rights dialogue is a powerful instrument with which to criticize a nation. Although the international human rights law extends a hand to meet the demands of the international women's movement, they are still defied by countless societies due to cultural setups. Hence it is a weak discourse, predominantly in third world countries in context to family and community beliefs.
No religion, especially not Islam, negates the women’s character in any path of life due to gender or particular responsibilities and nor do they distort her civil status. A family is an association where the observance of certain values does not mean the annulment of character or rights. There are no restrictions as long as responsibilities are ethically met.
While full and equal participation of women in political, civil, economic, social and cultural life is encouraged at the national, regional and international levels and the eradication of all forms of discrimination on grounds of sex are priority objectives of the international community; it is interesting to notice what has been done in Pakistan.
Even if you scan through our history while keeping women rights in point of reference, the most obvious aspect is the irrefutable difference laws have made and the constant struggle by the women.
There were two women representatives in the first legislature of Pakistan, Begum Shaista Ikramullah and Begum Jahanara Shah Nawaz and their first snag came when their male counterparts proved disinclined to back up the 'Islamic Personal Law of Shariat'. This law recognized women, as equal citizens with equivalence in pay for work, status, respect and opportunities with the right to inherit property in accordance with the Islamic law. After much wide spread revolt the bill was approved in 1948.
Fatima Jinnah, the sister of Mohammad Ali Jinnah ran for presidency in the sixties reflecting the possibilities for the women of that time to contribute to the nation.
The1958 military coup d'état over wrangling politicians proved to be a blessing in disguise for women, as the trained military officers were considerate to their cause and women got the chance to exploring new fields. Ayub Khan’s "Family Law Ordinance" (1961) was to discourage polygamy and regulate divorce. The ordinance required men to obtain the consent of his first wife to marry again. It also prescribed a minimum age for marriage and awarded women the right to divorce.
In Bhutto’s regime, the 1973 constitution expanded on the Family Law Ordinance, and awarded more rights to women than any other constitution. Women from all walks of life joined the women's wing of PPP. There was also a considerable induction into the Foreign Service and the District Management Group of Pakistan Civil Service was opened up to women for the first time. A woman was appointed as Governor of Sind and another was elected deputy speaker of the National Assembly. Article 27 of the Fundamental Rights predetermined that there would be no discrimination on the basis of sex, caste, race or religion. Indulging in whether the article was acted upon or not will unearth varying stories.
Once again martial law was imposed, the constitution was suspended and General Zia ul Haq stepped in to "Islamize" the constitution. How? A ban was placed on women's participation in spectator sports and the government announced plans to establish separate institutions for men and women. Liberty was taken to remind the free female citizens to guard their modesty and sport ‘chadors’ (veils). Yes...I am still talking about the late 70’s.
Not to be forgotten is the despicable Hudood Ordinance, one of the most biased pieces of legislation ever to be passed covering adultery, fornication, rape and prostitution (zina) and bearing false testimony (qazf). This provided a contrivance for, and legitimized the harassment of women and gave the bigoted mullahs bloated egos.
Benazir Bhutto in both her terms formed a coalition with elements of ulema and thus she did not amend or even challenge any of the legislation affecting women, pitiful consider that she is a woman herself. Though her government established the institutions such as the Women's Bank and the Women's Police Force but the latter, being more important, has been widely criticized as being generally futile.
Nawaz Sharif’s government in his first term passed a law extending the punishment of gang rape from 25 years' to death penalty. In 1998 he was wiser concerning which side to support and attempted to make the Islamic Republic of Pakistan even more "Islamic", by introducing a constitutional amendment establishing the Shariah (Islamic Law) as the supreme law of the land.
Now we have another martial ruler at hand and I wondering what twist will be given to the fate of countless women with the law at his disposal. And here I do not speak of the privileged class but of those ignorant and vulnerable women who suffer at the hands of their men and communities!
When will it be recognized that our legal framework in reference to women does not deal only with brutality and aggression, but also with unpredictability and discrimination that must necessarily shock the conscience. The women are not round the bend to put up a fight against the laws for their rights; they fight for that which is theirs by birth, freedom. Hasn’t anybody ever given thought as to why the men don’t fight for their rights? I’ll tell you why, because they themselves made the law and thus its drive is basically toward the male subjects with only passing mention to women's inequality. Pathetically this very absence of legal intervention to protect women whether in a community or at home devalues women and keeps intact the traditional male-dominated hierarchy of the family and the violation of women's rights resulting from religious extremism.
Honor killings against women who dare to defy male authority, even if it’s for their rights; have caused mayhem at the international dais. Because the government has been languid to prosecute when such crimes are committed, they are on the rise.
Even the law regarding rape overtly discriminates against women making it extremely difficult for them to press charges, regardless of whether it occurred in a marriage, criminal setting or in police custody. The widespread belief that a woman is an entity, to be married as her parents please and then live according to the wishes of her husband is mirrored by the shortcoming that "Marital rape" does not even exist in Pakistan. The Zina Ordinance passed in 1979, defined rape as "sexual intercourse without consent of the victim between a man and a woman who are not validly married to each other."
As if the former wasn’t enough, women filing rape charges face the threat of being charged with zina (fornication), if they cannot prove absence of consent, which is almost always impossible. Consequently the victims’ testimony, together with her illegitimate child (if she conceives) is used as irrefutable evidence against her. What follows is public stoning to death, public flogging or years in jail. Why? Because her couldn’t produce four bystanders to attest that she was raped. I must say that if a person has a twisted sense of humor, they could almost laugh.
I really wonder what the law makers were thinking of when they decided on this; I mean who in their right mind would rape a woman anywhere near people. Thanks to this warped law a victim of rape thinks twice before filing a complaint of rape.
Men in the eastern culture take their women for granted, more as chattels then partners. There is presently no law defining domestic violence as a criminal offence unless assault results in physical injury or death. Why? Because it is a private household matter, households matter when a citizen of Pakistan is being tortured mentally and physically.
Interesting yet revolting facts are that Article 2(f) of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, to which Pakistan is a party, requires the government to take all appropriate measures to abolish existing customs that constitute discrimination against women. And in Pakistan, a landlord and his son raped a nearly blind domestic-servant Safia Bibi. With an illegitimate baby at hand she registered a rape case against them; not only did the presiding judge find her rapists "not guilty", he awarded her the punishment of fifteen lashes, three years of imprisonment and a substantial fine.
Article 9 of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders requires States to "ensure that an inquiry take place whenever there is reasonable ground to believe that a violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms has occurred." Still Saima Waheed’s father engaged her in a bitter legal battle for marrying against his consent.
While Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees every person the right to life, an ironic example is that of Samia Sarwar who was shot dead on April 6th, 1999, in a case of honor killing, in the Lahore based law offices of Asma Jahangir and Hina Jilani where she had come seeking a dissolution of her marriage.
Article 4 of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women requires States to punish acts of violence against women. This law is mocked by the fact that on 6th December 1995, Nabeela testified that her husband sprinkled kerosene all over her and set her on fire after a quarreled. The accused denied his wife's version of the incident and he was acquitted by a magistrate's court that gave him the benefit of doubt.
Judicial decisions often reflect indifference towards women's concerns and contribute to a climate in which women's rights are violated with impunity. Maybe you would be more interested in these cases and the constitutional laws if these unaided, harassed women were your wives, daughters or sisters.
Let alone what the lawmakers have done, the law enforcers don’t even carry out their responsibilities. Worldwide, the police force and the judiciary are institutions tasked to sustain fundamental rights. However, in Pakistan, they have failed women subjected to abuse. Cases of domestic violence and “bride burning” are overlooked as domestic affairs. Often police officers refused to register complaints of rape, and honor killings by women while register cases of abduction and zina brought by fathers who opposed their daughters' independent choice of husbands despite the judgment that adult women may contract marriage without the consent of their male guardians.
In spite of all the international standards and accompanying national legislation, real renovation will only occur if there is reverberation in our national civil society. Although international civil society has been dynamic in the field of women's rights and has penetrated many nations; still at the national level, when it comes to family and community in many countries, civil society is far more conservative. The third world women rightly argue that variation in culture and life-style should be accepted, albeit within the general framework of equality. Masculine and feminine are differences that require scrutiny and conceptualization without making them hierarchical. Women's experiences are different and women's rights should learn to express these differences without resorting to male privilege.
Unless the women rights dialogue finds legality in our country's national life, women's rights and human rights will remain meager terms on paper. Even if they do, the women will fight on and might prove to be more determined and unrelenting then as thought of.
I ask men not to underestimate the spirit of their opposite sex.
It happened that a sentence was handed out, in a mixed gathering to be punctuated. The men punctuated it as: “Woman, without her man, is nothing.”
This was the female version: “Woman! Without her, man is nothing!”
So watch out men, you might have to handle more then you bargained for!