Pakistan backs down on rape reform law

[Memnoch]

Geez this law they're trying to reform is unbelievable. In a way it's good that Musharraf's a dictator - otherwise a democratic president wouldn't be able to push anything through with all these special interest groups.

Pakistan backs down on rape law reform Bruce Loudon September 15, 2006 PAKISTAN'S military-led Government buckled before the force of fundamentalist mullahs when it postponed a parliamentary vote on reforming controversial rape and adultery laws. . Faced with opposition from the hardline Islamist Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) party, which is opposed to even the slight liberalisation of the Islamic laws, the Government said it would look again at the package of changes being proposed. . The parliamentary vote had been set for Monday. . The ruling Pakistan Muslim League and associated parties have a clear majority in the parliament, but were apparently not prepared to face down threats from the MMA to quit parliament and provincial assemblies if the proposed bill went ahead. . President Pervez Musharraf's Government says a compromise version of the changes will be presented over the next few days. . Hundreds of women have been jailed under the laws which criminalised extra-marital sex and made a rape victim liable to prosecution for adultery if she failed to produce four male witnesses. . Known as the Hudood Ordinance, the laws were introduced in 1979 by the then military ruler, General Zia ul-Haq, as part of his program to Islamise the country. . They made it almost impossible to prosecute rapists. . Islamabad's backdown this week is seen as another sign of the extent to which General Musharraf's administration is increasingly hemmed in by the powerful Islamic fundamentalist parties. . The President has won at least some praise from women's rights groups for seeking to reform the laws. The proposed reforms would mean that in rape cases four male witnesses would no longer be required and instead circumstantial evidence could be considered. . There were confused accounts yesterday of the negotiations going on to agree on a new draft of the proposed changes, but a report in the leading newspaper Dawn indicated that the punishment of stoning for adultery was again being suggested. . The Pakistan Muslim League president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain was quoted as saying that nothing would be done that was in violation of the Islamic doctrines of Hudood, Shariah and Quran and Sunnah. . Click here

[Memnoch]

For those who don't know what the Hadood Ordinance referred to in the report, here it is:

What is hadood ordinance? . Hadood ordinance are basically judicial laws that were promulgated without any sort of public or parliamentary debate in 1979 during the self-imposed martial law regime of former dictator General zia-ul-huqq. These laws basically deal with adultery, rape and fornication. Under these laws here are some rules”-\ . 1. If the accused is a Muslim male or female and (a) confesses or (B) there are four adult pious Male Muslim witnesses to the act of the penetration, and © the accused is married, then the accused must be sentenced to death by stoning. . 2. If the accused is a non-Muslim and married and confesses the accused must be lashed with 100 whips. . 3. Also there is a punishment called “ Tazir” in which punishment for adultery or fornication is up to ten years in prison and thirty lashes with a whip and also some sort of fine. . 4. Punishment for rape is up to twenty-five years in prison and thirty lashes. There is no distinction between married and unmarried people.

[Harkoliar]

i must really comment here.. 4 PIOUS men?

/dumbfounded

[Luvian]

I don't even see why they created a rape law in the first place, it's obvious they didn't really want one. Needing 4 witnesses? Since when have rapists acted in public? As long as he's alone or with only 2 other people a male can do anything to a woman over there apparently.

If the punishment for aldultery is that severe, I can see how they don't want to be wrongfully accused by a woman with a grudge or something, but 4 witnesses? Come on...

[Iron Greasel]

That's the good thing about despotism, dictators often get things done. And if they don't, or if the actual people disagree with the choises, at least we have someone to aim the revolution against.

[Timber Loftis]

Originally posted by Iron Greasel: That's the good thing about despotism, dictators often get things done. And if they don't, or if the actual people disagree with the choises, at least we have someone to aim the revolution against.

Agreed. In all the types of governance I'm personally familiar with, I think that Despotism/Oligarcy are the only effective ones.

[Harkoliar]

Originally posted by Luvian: I don't even see why they created a rape law in the first place, it's obvious they didn't really want one. Needing 4 witnesses? Since when have rapists acted in public? As long as he's alone or with only 2 other people a male can do anything to a woman over there apparently. If the punishment for aldultery is that severe, I can see how they don't want to be wrongfully accused by a woman with a grudge or something, but 4 witnesses? Come on...

wanna bet this law is against the women.. i wonder how they would feel if the men were raped.

[Memnoch]

This is one of those "Rapists Paradise" laws that really need to be changed.

[Melchior]

Originally posted by Timber Loftis: quote: Originally posted by Iron Greasel: That's the good thing about despotism, dictators often get things done. And if they don't, or if the actual people disagree with the choises, at least we have someone to aim the revolution against.

Agreed. In all the types of governance I'm personally familiar with, I think that Despotism/Oligarcy are the only effective ones. [/QUOTE]If effective = most corrupt, then I agree!

Who needs accountability anyway?

[shamrock_uk]

Really, really bad news

Originally posted by Harkoliar: i wonder how they would feel if the men were raped.

Well it's actually even-handed in that respect - if a man gets raped then the same standard of proof applies.

Originally posted by Melchior: If effective = most corrupt, then I agree!

You've never seen our Labour government [img]tongue.gif[/img] The latest thing is they're closing specialist hospital services and trasferring them to Labour constituencies!


According to the Wikipedia article on the Hudood Ordinance women have only ever been imprisoned by these laws (ie for adultery) because in order to face the more severe punishments the same unlikely standard of proof applies - ie four men need to have witnessed her adulterous behaviour.

[ 09-20-2006, 07:30 AM: Message edited by: shamrock_uk ]