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One
Step Forward
The year 2006 in retrospect has been
a year that saw changes, many changes… The President
coming up with his memoir, launching it internationally,
creating a stir among the people and dividing many as
to whether he should have done it or not.
The long awaited nullification of Hudood Laws also came
about. I fail to understand the hype and furore over
the Women’s Protection Bill by religious politicians.
How can somebody in his right mind contemplate the possibility
of four witnesses to a rape, except in the case of gang
rape?
Hoping that it is not eyewash… The Women’s
Protection Bill of Pakistan has dramatically reformed
the draconian rape laws from 1979, passed by then dictator
Zia ul Haq under the influence of the religious fundamentalists.
This has been a contentious issue in the Pakistan establishment.
It has split MPs between the opposition and government
parties and has even divided president from prime minister.
At a function on International Women’s Day, President
Musharraf said that in order to make Pakistan a moderate
Islamic state there was a need to do away with all customs
and laws that discriminated against women. True, indeed.
But some prominent religious leaders are of the view
that the bill is not for the rights of the women but
the promotion of obscenity and the next target would
be the Blasphemy Law.
The role played by women in the economy is strange,
to say the least. Women do better than men at all levels
of the educational system, from primary school to university.
Still women have to struggle hard (read: fight) their
way to the top.
Coming back to our social system, women are still bound
by antiquated customs. Thirty years after the Dowry
and Bridal Gift Restriction Act of 1976, which fixed
a monetary limit on dowry and the amount that could
be spent on weddings, the law is openly being flouted
and has never really been executed. The shocking lengths
to which people can go to ensure a dowry for their daughters
came to light recently when a man killed four of his
relatives in Munirabad, Punjab, because he desperately
needed money for his sister’s marriage. Such unsubstantial
evil customs are against Islamic norms. We wish the
protestors could focus in the right direction.
These and many other barbaric ways must be stopped.
While laws alone cannot do much, their enforcement is
bound to bring about a change in attitudes. Let us hope
that 2007 opens up new vistas and brings along a whole
new vision for women’s emancipation.
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