Women protection bill: ‘Govt must not succumb to pressure’

LAHORE: The Women Action Forum (WAF) Lahore released a statement on Wednesday saying it was shocking that the government appeared to have succumbed to pressure from a religious lobby with regards to the Women Protection Bill. They said that the reaction of the religious parties was not surprising. As a political strategy, the Jamaat-i-Islami and other parties of the religious right had always played the “Islam is in danger” card to gain public visibility, the statement said. In succumbing to pressure, the elected government will not only undermine its own legitimacy, but it will also raise serious doubts about its sincerity and commitment to women’s right to life and protection. The statement said that domestic violence bills have already been passed by the Sindh and Balochistan Assemblies without a serious backlash from the religious lobby. This raised troubling questions about the Punjab.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2016.