The judges give verdicts according to the laws of the country and not on what they think of this case.
BERLIN: This is with respect to Naeem Sadiq’s article of April 23 titled “Patronage of rape”. It seems that the signal being sent out to women across Pakistan is that if they decide to stand up against rape and try to get those who raped them pay for their crime, they face an uphill battle, and one that will cost them their good name. After all, most women in a society such as ours are expected to shut up and keep quiet and do nothing about such situations.
However, blaming the judiciary for what has happened is also not right. The judges give verdicts according to the laws of the country and not on what they think of this case. For instance, was the prosecution in Mukhtaran Mai’s case able to provide four witnesses to the rape? What we should be discussing today is questions about the laws that are in place regarding rape. How can four people watch a rape and not interfere in the act? Clearly, what we need to advocate is having in place laws which make it easier to prosecute cases of rape.
Sharif Lone
Published in The Express Tribune, April 24th, 2011.
