Outlawing domestic violence

With the passing of the Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Bill in the Punjab Assembly in the last week, there may finally be some respite for women who have long been subjected to domestic violence. The stifling bounds of a home bereft of dignity for women can now be invaded by the police on court injunction and brutal husbands can be ejected from their houses. These and other measures have been set out in the new law, which also stipulates that a family court will fix hearing within seven days of receiving a complaint of domestic violence. The defending husband will have to show cause in court in the same week. All complaints will need to be decided within 90 days. The family court will now have jurisdiction to grant protection order for the battered wife, asking the husband not to communicate with his aggrieved life partner and to maintain a distance as determined by the court, as well as surrender all licensed weapons.

These are bold and welcome measures enshrined in the provincial law to guard against violence inflicted on defenceless women. This new legislation in Punjab sets a precedent for other provinces to follow. It gives women courage to knock the doors of court in case their rights are trampled upon within the confines of what they consider their homes. A salient new feature of this law is that the family court could also order a GPS tracker to be fitted on the perpetrator of violence, in order to monitor his movements in case an act of grave violence has been committed or is deemed likely to be committed. We wholly commend this initiative, but at the same time remind the authorities that it will bring no good if the law suffers from weak implementation. The disturbing reality is that the right wing has already started speaking out against this crucial piece of legislation, with prominent religious scholars and politicians, including Maulana Fazlur Rehman, making no secret of their opposition to the law. This just goes to show the long road ahead, in terms of changing mindsets that believe that there is nothing wrong in subjecting women to brutal treatment. That is the real challenge that we face.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 28^th, 2016.

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