MPs call for effective women protection

Faiza Malik urges govt to not be discouraged by CII’s criticism

LAHORE: “Those who claim that the bill providing women protection against violence is against men and will result in more divorces are wrong,” Pakistan People’s Party MPA Faiza Malik said on Thursday.

She was speaking at a conference organised by the South Asia Partnership Pakistan to mark International Women’s Day. Women parliamentarians discussed various laws, including the Protection of Women Against Violence Bill.

Malik said the law had brought women a step closer to setting their rights. She said that it appeared from the debate at the Provincial Assembly that the government had advice from the opposition and the civil society for the legislation. She said effective enforcement was the key to achieving desired results. Funds had not been allocated in the current budget for women protection centres, she remarked.

“The law provides women protection not only from their husbands but also other family members. It also protects them from violence on part of their fathers-in-law, brothers-in-law and mothers-in-law,” the MPA said.

Malik urged the government to not be discouraged by the Council of Islamic Ideology’s criticism of the bill. “The clerics opposing the law should first read it. If they are unable to read English, we can upload an Urdu version of the bill on the provincial government’s website,” she said. Malik said she was sure that none of the clerics opposing the bill had read it carefully. Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Nosheen Hamid spoke about the importance of having women in the assembly. She said men members were not as concerned with women issues as women and that they did not frequently raise these on the floor of the House. “Women members, regardless of their political affiliation, rallied together in favour of the bill.”

She said there were clauses in the Pakistan Penal Code to deal with violence but a women-specific legislation was needed. Saadia Sohail said there were some issues with the legislation which she said should be addressed. She said political will was necessary for its enforcement. “If they can prevent weddings after 10pm and enforce the one-dish rule, they should also ensure enforcement of this law,” Sohail said. She said that if the government could find funds for the Orange Line Metro Train project, it should also provide money for women protection centres. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Farzana Butt said the Social Welfare Committee she was part of had played a key role in presenting the bill in the assembly. Peter Jacob from the National Commission for Justice and Peace said those opposing the law had been trying to please their own constituents because they did not believe the government had the right to interfere in people’s personal matters. He said it was the government’s responsibility to protect all citizens.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 11^th, 2016.